Michael Whelan
Michael Whelan  Β·  last month

Content Warning

Today we have two originals, a preliminary concept and a finished study that Michael completed during his work on a cover for a forthcoming special edition of At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft from Centipede Press. 1/3

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/shop/original-art/

#horror #illustration #hplovecraft #originalart #shoggoth

BLIZZARD OF FEAR (2018), Oil on Board - 11” x 14”, Custom framed in gray/brown rustic wood moulding. A bearded man in polar gear grips a five-pointed star as he turns in surprise with his russet colored scarf whipping near horizontal, caught by chill Antarctic wind. Drifts blow at his feet, defining a line of white. His stance is set wide suggesting pivoting movement. A side satchel is strapped across his chest, tying together the colors of scarf, leather, and beard. Emerging at the edge of the snow covered mountain is a Shoggoth, a tentacled monstrosity with a myriad of eyes clustered in the knot of flesh that is the center of its mass.
BLIZZARD OF FEAR (2018), Oil on Board - 11” x 14”, Custom framed in gray/brown rustic wood moulding. A bearded man in polar gear grips a five-pointed star as he turns in surprise with his russet colored scarf whipping near horizontal, caught by chill Antarctic wind. Drifts blow at his feet, defining a line of white. His stance is set wide suggesting pivoting movement. A side satchel is strapped across his chest, tying together the colors of scarf, leather, and beard. Emerging at the edge of the snow covered mountain is a Shoggoth, a tentacled monstrosity with a myriad of eyes clustered in the knot of flesh that is the center of its mass.
BLIZZARD OF FEAR (2018), Oil on Board - 11” x 14”, Custom framed in gray/brown rustic wood moulding. A bearded man in polar gear grips a five-pointed star as he turns in surprise with his russet colored scarf whipping near horizontal, caught by chill Antarctic wind. Drifts blow at his feet, defining a line of white. His stance is set wide suggesting pivoting movement. A side satchel is strapped across his chest, tying together the colors of scarf, leather, and beard. Emerging at the edge of the snow covered mountain is a Shoggoth, a tentacled monstrosity with a myriad of eyes clustered in the knot of flesh that is the center of its mass.
FEARFUL GEOMETRY (2024), Acrylic on Panel, 8” x 8”, Custom framed mounted on black wood panel with dark silver wood moulding. A pale green, five-pointed star with chipped points rests upon textured gray stone as a slender tentacle extends from off panel to cup and curl around it. The skin of the tentacle is smooth, green and yellow like a snake but suggests something more horrific as it sprouts eyeballs at random and becomes serrated approaching the tip. A second star forms at the center of the soapstone, recessed, radiating lines outward to the points and to the intersections of sides. Teardrops are etched on the ridge of each diamond segment with an arc dots on the bevel of each slope. Drops of bright red bead on the stone in the lower right.
FEARFUL GEOMETRY (2024), Acrylic on Panel, 8” x 8”, Custom framed mounted on black wood panel with dark silver wood moulding. A pale green, five-pointed star with chipped points rests upon textured gray stone as a slender tentacle extends from off panel to cup and curl around it. The skin of the tentacle is smooth, green and yellow like a snake but suggests something more horrific as it sprouts eyeballs at random and becomes serrated approaching the tip. A second star forms at the center of the soapstone, recessed, radiating lines outward to the points and to the intersections of sides. Teardrops are etched on the ridge of each diamond segment with an arc dots on the bevel of each slope. Drops of bright red bead on the stone in the lower right.
FEARFUL GEOMETRY (2024), Acrylic on Panel, 8” x 8”, Custom framed mounted on black wood panel with dark silver wood moulding. A pale green, five-pointed star with chipped points rests upon textured gray stone as a slender tentacle extends from off panel to cup and curl around it. The skin of the tentacle is smooth, green and yellow like a snake but suggests something more horrific as it sprouts eyeballs at random and becomes serrated approaching the tip. A second star forms at the center of the soapstone, recessed, radiating lines outward to the points and to the intersections of sides. Teardrops are etched on the ridge of each diamond segment with an arc dots on the bevel of each slope. Drops of bright red bead on the stone in the lower right.
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Michael Whelan
Michael Whelan  Β·  last month

Content Warning

FEARFUL GEOMETRY
Finished study for AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS
Acrylic - 8” x 8”

An attempt to visualize one of the green star-shaped artifacts as faithfully to Lovecraft’s text as possible. This was intended to serve as a model for later use in the cover painting.

Ultimately Michael decided on a slightly different set of patterns on the stone depicted on the cover, but he saw promise in this illustration, a small gem in its own right, and elected to finish it.

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/shop/fearful-geometry/
2/3

A pale green, five-pointed star with chipped points rests upon textured gray stone as a slender tentacle extends from off panel to cup and curl around it. The skin of the tentacle is smooth, green and yellow like a snake but suggests something more horrific as it sprouts eyeballs at random and becomes serrated approaching the tip. A second star forms at the center of the soapstone, recessed, radiating lines outward to the points and to the intersections of sides. Teardrops are etched on the ridge of each diamond segment with an arc dots on the bevel of each slope. Drops of bright red bead on the stone in the lower right.
A pale green, five-pointed star with chipped points rests upon textured gray stone as a slender tentacle extends from off panel to cup and curl around it. The skin of the tentacle is smooth, green and yellow like a snake but suggests something more horrific as it sprouts eyeballs at random and becomes serrated approaching the tip. A second star forms at the center of the soapstone, recessed, radiating lines outward to the points and to the intersections of sides. Teardrops are etched on the ridge of each diamond segment with an arc dots on the bevel of each slope. Drops of bright red bead on the stone in the lower right.
A pale green, five-pointed star with chipped points rests upon textured gray stone as a slender tentacle extends from off panel to cup and curl around it. The skin of the tentacle is smooth, green and yellow like a snake but suggests something more horrific as it sprouts eyeballs at random and becomes serrated approaching the tip. A second star forms at the center of the soapstone, recessed, radiating lines outward to the points and to the intersections of sides. Teardrops are etched on the ridge of each diamond segment with an arc dots on the bevel of each slope. Drops of bright red bead on the stone in the lower right.
Michael Whelan
Michael Whelan  Β·  last month

Content Warning

BLIZZARD OF FEAR
Preliminary concept for AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS
Oil - 11” x 14”

A figure study for At the Mountains of Madness. It began with a search for a pose and evolved into a complete scene.

The Antarctic explorer grips one of the strange green β€œstar stone” artifacts while a Shoggoth lurks in the background.

Michael ultimately went in a different direction, but he liked this well enough that it has been hanging in his studio for several years.

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/shop/blizzard-of-fear/
3/3

A bearded man in polar gear grips a five-pointed star as he turns in surprise with his russet colored scarf whipping near horizontal, caught by chill Antarctic wind. Drifts blow at his feet, defining a line of white. His stance is set wide suggesting pivoting movement. A side satchel is strapped across his chest, tying together the colors of scarf, leather, and beard. Emerging at the edge of the snow covered mountain is a Shoggoth, a tentacled monstrosity with a myriad of eyes clustered in the knot of flesh that is the center of its mass.
A bearded man in polar gear grips a five-pointed star as he turns in surprise with his russet colored scarf whipping near horizontal, caught by chill Antarctic wind. Drifts blow at his feet, defining a line of white. His stance is set wide suggesting pivoting movement. A side satchel is strapped across his chest, tying together the colors of scarf, leather, and beard. Emerging at the edge of the snow covered mountain is a Shoggoth, a tentacled monstrosity with a myriad of eyes clustered in the knot of flesh that is the center of its mass.
A bearded man in polar gear grips a five-pointed star as he turns in surprise with his russet colored scarf whipping near horizontal, caught by chill Antarctic wind. Drifts blow at his feet, defining a line of white. His stance is set wide suggesting pivoting movement. A side satchel is strapped across his chest, tying together the colors of scarf, leather, and beard. Emerging at the edge of the snow covered mountain is a Shoggoth, a tentacled monstrosity with a myriad of eyes clustered in the knot of flesh that is the center of its mass.
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