OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS (2017) by Michael Whelan, the first installment of his LEFTOVERS & PALETTE GREMLINS gallery project for 2017. That’s right, back at it again for the new year!

I recently bought some slanted brushes that I find fun to play with when I want straight edges in a picture. While applying random brushstrokes to a piece of illustration board, they began to look more and more like little cubes to me. This brought to mind H.P. Lovecraft’s descriptions of strange shapes seen on the mountain range his explorers fly over when traveling to the Plain of Leng. With the addition of windblown ice crystals and a little ‘aeroplane’ for scale, these random brushstrokes became a scene from AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS.