MichaelWhelan , to random
@MichaelWhelan@mastodon.art avatar

PERSPICACITY (2001)
Acrylic on Panel - 12" x 12"

Also known as VIEWPOINT. This is a tangent point between The End of Nature paintings and The Virtues. For me, the butterfly represents the fleeting nature of life.

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/perspicacity/


Close detail from PERSPICACITY showcasing the yellow butterfly perched on the woman's knee. A small ammonite fossil dangles down on a long chain threaded between her fingers. Her hands, accented with many silver rings, rest on the folds of her lavender robes.

Thin bare branches arch upward to support a perch of leaves sinking in the middle to give it an impression of a wide, flat heart shape. A redheaded woman in lavender robes sits with one leg folded beneath her and the other dangling. A butterfly perches on her knee. Hands rest in her lap. Between her fingers hangs a delicate chain weighed down by a small ammonite fossil. The pastel sky behind her is a gradient of yellow and peach clouds broken by a twin contrail that follows her gaze off panel to the right.
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    • MichaelWhelan , to random
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    THE END OF NATURE VII (2005)
    Acrylic on Panel - 25" x 40"

    Up until this point in my End of Nature series, I had portrayed the people who represent humanity in general as somewhat oblivious to the support that nature was providing for them. 1/2

    Slender trees, as seen among the clouds from below, slant upward, branching bronchial-like to support a leafy path that winds in a reverse S-shape, thinning as it fades behind more prominent tree trunks in the foreground. Golden twilight bathes the pale texture of the trees, and although the sky is still blue, a sliver of crescent moon hangs in the upper left. In the distance, standing atop the treetop, a figure struggles with a line attached to a red gas-powered kite. Black smoke trails off the glider and the tail droops limply below it.
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    • MichaelWhelan , to random
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    BEANSTALK (2001)
    Acrylic on Panel - 12" x 12"

    A small painting from "The End of Nature" subset of my personal work.

    https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/beanstalk/

    Set against soft blue sky and a vertical pillow of clouds, a woman with long red hair struggles with the vines of a tangled beanstalk. With arm bent to anchor, she pulls on one long tendril while steadying a cluster of vines running behind her back. Her weight is almost wholly dependent on the vine although her bare feet do have purchase where the beanstalk angles upward in ascent. She wears a white catsuit with tank top. From her right hip dangles an array of stars hanging from long strands. Twisting around in the open air, the face of some stars catch golden light from below. Similarly shaped tokens can be seen embedded above her in the thick curling foliage.
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    • MichaelWhelan , to random
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    RIMRUNNER (2011)
    Oils - 18” x 28”

    A painting in THE END OF NATURE subset of my personal work. Like EDGEDANCER, this one is a cautionary tale.

    https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/rimrunner/

    Detail from RIMRUNNER featuring a young woman dancing atop a high narrow path. Her arms are out for balance, her front knee is bent, while her back leg is lifted trailing with white fabric draping behind her.
    Tonal study for RIMRUNNER featuring the young woman posed balanced with arms out, front leg bent, and back leg trailing. The perspective of her environment differs as she's just taken a step over a gap onto the next segment but we only see the top edge of the rim. The background isn't the winding ribbon trail but rather the broken edge of a cliff and wider, flat plains atop it.

    With flowers decorating her long dark hair, a young woman draped in flowing white fabric spreads her arms wide as she dances along the top of a moss covered wall. The narrow path set high in the clouds unwinds like a ribbon, zigzagging left to right and back again. As the path recedes into the distance breaks become larger and more apparent.
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