Bradley Atkins-Reeves

Light slants across the mist hanging over an Asian-style water garden. Lost in meditation, a monk sits with legs crossed, levitating a few feet off the ground. On either side of him, two banner hang from a pergola with wide overhanging eaves like a pagoda. Set on blue, an simple overlapping flower crest reflect Japanese iconography while on red an ornate dragon evokes Chinese style. On an arched bridge over peaceful green-blue waters, a band of warriors gather looking toward the solitary monk.

SHONTO'S GARDEN (1990)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 25" x 36"

For his novel THE INITIATE BROTHER, Sean Russell draws from both Chinese and Japanese lore for the fantasy this painting illustrates. 1/4

Three classical arches stand tall against a calm cerulean sky at twilight. Transparent spheres, each containing a flicker of flame, float among the pillars of a ruined yet still beautiful structure. Steps lead up from the sand to a broad pedestal set at the center of the arches. Above it a star hangs low on the horizon. In the immediate foreground, a path of stones winds across a shallow tidal pool. Water reflects the vertical lines of the pillars.

PASSAGE: THE AVATAR (1988)
Acrylic on Canvas - 48" x 48"

Initially inspired by a few notes from a Pink Floyd instrumental track, this came to me while floating in a sensory deprivation tank. 1/3

A woman in ornate headdress and leafy yellow cloak holds out two glass vials. One is accented in black with a skull decorating the slender handle of the stopper. The other vial is decorated with a gold swirl leading to a Celtic shield knot. Her young face is covered by a mask of pointy yellow leaves with a gold and green border framing her blue eyes. A motley pattern of butterfly wings peeks out underneath; a purple butterfly is centered above her forehead. Bells hang from her ear which is covered by a single pink rose. A hint of white hair mixes with beaded necklaces covering her neck. Wild grass sweeps off the top of the mask. The tall headdress is laden with symbols. Central among them is a sun with a stylized biohazard symbol at its center.

THE SUMMER QUEEN (1990)
Acrylic on Panel - 36" x 24"

I was glad to learn that Joan Vinge was writing a sequel to The Snow Queen, and even more so when I got a call from Warner Books for the cover assignment. 1/7

A dark skinned man with blank eyes and white hair sits primly against the smooth face of rock with a tree casting soft shadows across it. The hood of his pristine white robes is drawn up and his hands rest penitently in his lap. He holds a black metal rod, topped with an owl, angled back toward him. On the path leading up to him, a human skull rests on a pebble strewn ground. Beyond, a tall set of stairs leads up to a set of double doors, part of a large paneled arch four times its height.

NARROW WAY (1984)
Acrylic on Canvas - 30" x 20"

The greatest measure of my satisfaction as an illustrator comes when I produce an artwork that reflects my artistic concerns just as much as it illustrates the book. This painting is one of the best examples of that happy condition. 1/4

A solitary figure stands at the edge of a ruined overpass staring down at a bat demon perched on a spire amid the ruins of a city. Everything at ground level has been reduced to rubble as painted in cool blues and purples. On the horizon, broken stubs of buildings are set against a pink and purple sunset. Above low lying clouds, the sky turns red. Highlighted in yellow, the clouds take the form of a rider on motorcycle with one arm thrown back and mouth open in a scream as he tears upward from the horizon.

MEATLOAF ASCENDANT (1997)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 30" x 20"

Cover art for a greatest hits album that featured songs from both of MeatLoaf's BAT OUT OF HELL albums. 1/4

Detail from SUBTERRANEANS featuring a worm's eye view up a massive stepped wall. Light filters in from above hitting the side wall, lending the space a hazy atmosphere.

Close detail of a solitary figure crouched at the base of a massive stepped wall

The perspective is false. For some reason, whenever I tried to make the picture do what I wanted it to do via the conventional laws of perspective, it lost its focus, the feel of ascending immensity going on forever. So I discarded true perspective in order to paint it the way that felt right. 3/4

Set in profile against a busy starscape, a regal woman exhales a frosty breath that starts as a delicate spiral before dissolving overhead. Her skin is pale and her wardrobe decidedly wintry, mostly white with pearlescent accents. She wears an ornate headdress, detailed in ornamentation, all swirls and flourishes. Her gown made of feathers and snowflakes opens high on the chest to expose more pale skin but she seems unaffected by the chill of winter.

NIGHTFROST (2011)
Acrylic on Watercolor Paper - 9” x 6”

A breath of the fantastic…while this could pass for a SFF illustration, it was actually painted for the family holiday card in 2011.

www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/ni...

A golden dragon with orange tufts on its neck and head gracefully floats from a cliffside cave at sunset. The sun burns low crossed by clouds just above the horizon. Twin moons glow in the sky. A pair of women in sorceress gowns—one purple, one blue—stand on the rocks. One holds a tall staff topped with winged ornament and a blue orb atop it.

The story behind GOLDWING in this week's newsletter:

theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/the-story-...

A man stands on a rock outcrop overlooking a long road that leads through farmland and into a spiral that winds through a densely packed settlement. The tree growing out of the rock overlook has a spiky top. More foliage in the right foreground provides hints that this is an alien world. Three crescent moons hang in the sky. On the far left, the painting is oversaturated with a golden glow that sits over the water of a nearby bay and gradually blends into verdant green surrounding the spiral city. Winged creatures, much like aquatic rays, glide low over the fields and road.

DESTINY'S ROAD (1991)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 30" x 40"

After painting 6 concepts in an effort to distill Larry Niven's novel into one image, I settled on a mountaintop perspective that gave me the chance to offer an aerial view of the road and its environs. 1/6

Roland Deschain—tiny in perspective even in the immediate foreground—trudges down a dusty road across empty scrubland. Low mountains give way to sunset sky tinted orange and a bank of clouds. Tentdrils of cloud wrap behind a smooth tower that shows no signs of being anchored to the ground. From the tall thin crenelations at the top, thin bright beams of light shoot outward at 90 degree angles.

THE DARK TOWER: THE LONG ROAD (2009)
Acrylic - 30 1/2" x 22"

I've revisited the Dark Tower many times in my career and with each trip to Mid-World I find myself a little farther down the road in my own journey. 1/3

In his hut on Dagobah, Yoda sits at a stone slab table with his chin resting upon the back of his hand. He holds a feathered quill in his other hand as he writes on a scroll rolled out in front of him. The ends of the scroll are capped in gold as is the lid of the ink well to his right which is flipped open. The ink well is painted purple with pink polka dots. Behind Yoda, the stone wall is tinged an earthy red. Three oblong ovals offer a view out to the swamp.

YOURS TRULY (1983)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 28" X 22"

When Del Rey Books commissioned me to do this portrait of the Master Jedi, Lucasfilms sent me black and white movie still photos to use as reference. 1/3

I have been a fan of this guy’s art for as long as I can remember.

I added Fix You by Coldplay to the list. 😎🎶

Most of us watch the Moon at night. But the Moon spends nearly as many daylight hours above our horizon, though in bright daytime skies the lunar disk looks pale and can be a little harder to see. Of course in daytime skies the Moon also appears to cycle through its phases, shining by reflected sunlight as it orbits our fair planet. For daytime moonwatchers, the Moon is probably easier to spot when the visible sunlit portion of the lunar disk is large and waxing following first quarter or waning approaching its third quarter phase. And though it might look unusual, a daytime moon is often seen even in urban skies. Captured here in a telephoto snapshot taken on March 12, a waxing daytime Moon is aligned near the edge of a popular observation deck that overlooks New York City's borough of Manahattan.

🔭 Moon Near the Edge

Image Credit & Copyright: Jordi Coy

apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap25041...

I have a few in mind.

Forever by Stratovarious.

The Last Goodbye by Billy Boyd

My Immortal by Evanescence

Secrets by One Republic

At the Beginning from Anastasia with Audra 🩶

When You Believe from Prince of Egypt the Broadway Musical version

To name a few I’ve been working on. 😃

Guys. What’s everyone planning for the next Gally One?

I may just sing at Karaoke. 😎🎶

I don’t promise it’ll be good. 🤣

😎👊

I have no sympathy for any of them. They were all laughing about swatting until it allegedly started happening to their own. 🤷‍♂️

😍

😎💯