WINTER'S GLOW

The making of a holiday painting

and

Dec 08, 2024

WINTER’S GLOW was Michael’s holiday art for 2012—I believe his last true holiday painting although he has done a few winter themed Leftovers & Palette Gremlins.

Reading Michael’s narrative, I felt the influence of his beloved mother-in-law Pat Larsen, who passed away earlier this year. In many ways, this has been a difficult year behind the scenes for the Whelans (and for my family as well). We are operating on a delayed calendar as a result.

I hope you’ll join me today in thinking about Pat and her contributions in shaping this magical painting. ~ME

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Summoning the Holidays

I wasn’t feeling in the holiday spirit, and as usual it took a painting—a gift for visitors of my new website in 2012—to get me into the mood of the season.

“Yupo paper” is an interesting surface. Don Maitz first recommended it to me, and I was pleased with how the sheet he lent me handled acrylics. When I found a 12″ x 12″ piece of the Yupo paper I’d ordered, I decided to try it for this holiday image.

I put on seasonal music and got to work mixing raw umber acrylic and clear gesso (to give the underpainting some tooth). I splashed around paint and came up with a composition that I confess was partly influenced by a photo I once saw of a fashion model with striking wild hair.

The underpainting for WINTER'S GLOW executed in raw umber acrylic paint and clear gesso. The figure of a woman with wild hair has been defined wearing a regal gown. An owl flies past her shoulder on the panel left. A crescent moon shows in the roughed in sky. The head of a deer has barely been established. — Underpainting in raw umber acrylics and clear gesso on Yupo paper

While I was painting, the thought occurred to have the hair frizz out and gradually turn into ice crystals on the edges. As the composition developed, however, I moved away from the idea. The ends of her hair might make her look too Medusa-esque and evil.

I was looking to express feelings of contemplation, oneness with Nature; the phases of the moon, the weather, and the seasons.

Later I brought it into the house to show and get feedback—to see if anyone thought it was worth developing further. My mother-in-law suggested incorporating bells as earrings. I liked the idea. We also talked about birds, and during the conversation I sketched in the owl and cardinals.

WINTER'S GLOW as an early painting in progress. The head of the deer now established gazing off panel left. In the hands of the winter maiden, two cardinals perch—one golden and one red, establishing the first touches of color. — Painting in progress with the addition of color with two cardinals

Back in my studio, I quickly blocked in the cardinals to get their colors into the picture so other elements would harmonize with them as much as possible. I decided to paint in a deer and then took a piece of mat board with a little paint on it and roughed in more textural notes under the figure’s arms. I also worked at refining the shapes on the owl.

At this point I was ready to start getting into the color. First I painted in a tone over the sky with my airbrush. Unsure where to go next, I brushed in hasty color notes at random places in the picture to get a feel for where I wanted to go with it.

A step further in progress with WINTER'S GLOW. The winter maiden's dress is taking shape with purple accents and lace on the shoulders. Her chaotic tangle of hair is more refined with accents added and the edges smoothed. The sky is night blue pin pricks dotting it throughout. — Further progress as the dress, hair, and sky take shape

When I had enough to guide me, I launched into the real painting, layering semi-transparent washes over semi-opaque defining strokes, going back and forth as I refined shapes and edges. I softened the edges on the hair so it wouldn’t be so distracting and adjusted colors and shapes.

There were missteps, of course: I overdid the sweeping cirrus-like cloud shapes and kept changing my mind about the edges and shapes of her hair, but gradually I found my way.

The painting in progress starts to take on a more finished look as traces of clouds radiate outward. The headdress is defined with florals and greenery contrasting the regal mane of white hair. Bells are placed as earrings. The fabric of the dress takes on a luminous gold tint and sparkles are added to the lace trailing down from the sleeves. — Details of the dress and hair are refined, and clouds trace the sky

At this point I thought it was finished, but when I applied a layer of medium over the image there was an unappealing chalkiness to the sky colors. Other flaws in the painting showed up as well—not apparent to me until the painting had an even sheen to it.

This often happens with acrylics; some pigments are more matte than others and their values can change appreciably when the surface gets an even gloss over the entire image. It can be very frustrating!

The painting takes on a chalky appearance losing vibrancy of color after a layer of protective medium is applied, prompting further revision. — The painting nearing completion

Resigned to the task of correcting the problems, I went back into the painting and glazed color on the areas that went flat, and corrected little errors I found along the way.

This is how it came out at the end. I like the fact that some of the underpainting still shows through the finished piece. I wish I’d left the sky on the left a little looser as well so the brushstrokes on the under layer showed through more. But overall I’m pleased with the result. I hope you are too.

A woman stands like the queen of winter glancing off panel left with a stately air as two cardinals—one gold, one red—perch on her extended fingers as she cups one hand in another. Her gown is ethereal as the white lace of the sleeves sparkle like white holiday lights. The gold tinted silk of her dress puffs slightly at the shoulder, accented with lines of regal purple until tied off with a thin golden bow. Set at the center on her forehead is a blue-green gem bound in a gold inlaid oval. Her hair is a full white mane held back by a band of holly, berries, and flowers—subdued in color but mostly gold—in a variety of blooms. The night sky is alive with traces of cirrus clouds sweeping past a crescent moon. An owl takes flight past her shoulder. A deer huddles close. — WINTER’S GLOW (2012), Acrylic on Yupo Paper - 12” x 12”

WINTER’S GLOW is available in our shop as a Signed Limited Edition Giclée ($45) presented at the same image size as the original painting.

View WINTER'S GLOW in our shop

Holiday Gift Ideas

For a full selection of prints, books, and more visit our shop for great gift ideas.

Please order as soon as possible to ensure delivery by Christmas.

Place all orders for the holidays by December 14. Expedited shipping with FedEx (2-day) is available. Please inquire if you would like to add that service for a small charge.

If the order is a gift, please mention that in the order notes with the date needed by.

A woman in a plain white gown sits on a rock with her hands resting on her lap. A dove takes perch on her finger as she glances over snow covered trees to a distant star in the night sky. A globe of a paper lantern hangs above her from the bare branches of a birch tree. At the foot of the rock, small candles line a path that meanders through snowy grass and leads to a break in the trees to water beyond. — STAR OF PEACE, Signed Limited Edition Print: $95

View STAR OF PEACE in our shop

Cupping a candle in her hands, a woman in pale blue robes stands on a rock strewn hill in an autumnal wooded scene. Her cheeks are flush in the glow of the flame. White cloth wraps her head, constraining red hair. The wrap drapes down her side falling with a shawl-like fringe. A Douglas fir rises behind her, an evergreen amid bare skeletal trees with barely any leaves. Golden leaves carpet the forest floor. Two white doves perch on the ground nearby. — WOODLAND PEACE, Open Edition Giclée: $40

View WOODLAND PEACE in our shop

NIGHTFROST, Signed Open Edition Giclée: $40

View NIGHTFROST in our shop

Gaming Supplies and Stocking Stuffers

Officially licensed accessories featuring the art of Michael Whelan are available at Inked Gaming. From the Stormlight Archive, the Dark Tower, Elric, and the Dragonrider’s of Pern, find the perfect stocking stuffers—playmats, mousepads, dice bags, and more.

Advertisement for Inked Gaming featuring details from 4 painting (clockwise from top left): THE DARK TOWER, EMPIRE OF GRASS, MORETA, and PEEKABOO FUZZIES

View Michael Whelan art on Inked Gaming

Weekly Art Recap

Grid of images 2x3 corresponding to the art listed below — Art featured from Dec 2 - 7

Amazons - cover for the classic DAW anthology of female warriors
Time’s Passing - depicting the long drawn out winters of New England
Emperor of the Wastelands - cover for When True Night Falls by C.S. Friedman
Patience - a virtue very much in need this time of year
Last Look Back - cover for Grumbles from the Grave by Robert Heinlein
Time and Again - cover for grandmaster Clifford Simak’s classic

Wind and Truth Original Art Preview

As mentioned in the introduction, we are operating at the speed of life and will have originals listed as soon as they are ready.

We have 3 original prelims for WIND AND TRUTH out for framing. We hope to list those Wednesday with more to come as finished art comes out of the studio.

We previewed the first color preliminary for paid subscribers last week and expect to offer an expanded preview to those same subscribers on Monday (if all goes well).

Thank you for the overwhelming support with our last mailing. We are almost caught up with standard print orders. Turnaround time on custom framing is typically 3 week, and our framer is working diligently to complete those orders.

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