Source: michaelwhelan.com
TIME PASSING (2007) by Michael Whelan
Oil on Panel - 26” x 16”
As a native Californian, I really enjoy the change in seasons that I experience living in New England. There is even beauty to be found in the shadows of the leafless trees against the pale gray winter sky. However when I finished this Portals painting in March, I was definitely ready to start seeing more of the sun!
(via theartofmichaelwhelan)
Source: michaelwhelan.com
WINDOW TO THE SUN (2006) by Michael Whelan
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 13” x 11”
Since my most recent resolution to devote all my time to my gallery work I’ve been obsessed with painting these passageways. It doesn’t take a Sigmund Freud to figure out why. The career transition I seek to make is a prospect both compelling yet unnerving, so my dreams are filled with these iconic representations of my ambivalences. Most seem to be subjective derivations of experiences in previous years, exploring ruins of castles and abbeys in the UK.
In the case of this particular example, I have placed the symbol of my soul consciousness or desires on the other side, waiting for fulfillment. Waiting for me to come into the full light. I’m sending messages to myself here…. I think.
(via theartofmichaelwhelan)
Source: michaelwhelan.com
DOORWAY TO THE WEST (2006) by Michael Whelan
Acrylic on Panel - 12” x 9”
Another search for the light. Creating the illusion of texture in paint, the process of actually painting it, can be an act of meditation. If it were not so, the painting of all those rocks would be torture, especially for someone like me with an impatient nature.
(via theartofmichaelwhelan)
Source: michaelwhelan.com
DAWN PORTAL (2006) by Michael Whelan
Acrylic on Panel - 20" x 24"
The woman in this Portals painting is seeking wisdom and meaning beyond the knowledge she can gain from cultural influences, here represented by the statues. Night is passing and she is facing the light squarely, drawing conclusions based on direct personal experience, not the received wisdom of bygone ages.
(via theartofmichaelwhelan)
Source: michaelwhelan.com
DOORWAY TO THE WEST by Michael Whelan (2006)
Acrylic on Panel - 12” x 9”
Another search for the light. Creating the illusion of texture in paint, the process of actually painting it, can be an act of meditation. If it were not so, the painting of all those rocks would be torture, especially for someone like me with an impatient nature.
(via theartofmichaelwhelan)
Source: michaelwhelan.com
ENLIGHTENMENT (2006) by Michael Whelan
Oil on Panel - 36" x 24"
In the Portals paintings, enlightenment is found only when one gets beyond the architecture of established formal belief systems. The wisdom comes from engaging in the effort personally - no one can do it for you.
(via theartofmichaelwhelan)
Source: michaelwhelan.com
WARMING HER WINGS by Michael Whelan (2012)
Acrylic on Panel - 11” x 14”
In fall, the sun sets on the west side of our property to shine through the trees. On a humid day, the light seems suspended in the thick air, spreading against the dark shapes of the trees, fanning golden brilliance across the green lawn.
I saw my daughter Alexa a few times when she was between the ages of 5 and 10, standing in the glow as if spotlit on a stage, and each time I would tell myself, “Remember this, this is a gorgeous moment you don’t want to ever forget.”
Years later while traveling in the UK, we were hiking near Three Cliffs Bay on the Gower coast in Wales. Evening was drawing near. As the sun approached the horizon, warm light illuminated the ruined walls of Pennard Castle. As we passed by there, I noticed a beam of light falling through a doorway and recalled the memory of Alexa in the light at home. Same sun, same light, same Alexa.
When I decided to produce another painting for my Portals series, these memories became my main inspiration. The butterfly, a symbol of life’s fleeting vicissitudes, reminds us to stop and enjoy our time in the sun.
(via theartofmichaelwhelan)
Source: michaelwhelan.com
DAWN JOURNEY (2010) by Michael Whelan
Acrylic - 14” x 11”
Every day offers the possibility of a new beginning.
The journey the title refers to is the freedom of mind. Through meditation, the women find that there is no limit to the architecture of the imagination.
(via theartofmichaelwhelan)
Source: michaelwhelan.com
Source: michaelwhelan.com
