Michael Whelan - Lurking Death

A very big thanks goes to Mike Jackson for identifying this piece. I should have gone right to the original source!
Quoting from Mike:
"This was an interior illustration painted specifically for the "Horror" chapter of Michael's first art book Wonderworks. Intro text by Gerald W. Page was laid over the art.
The book is long out of print but we released an updated and remastered digital edition that's available on Michael's website here:"
https://www.michaelwhelan.com/shop/wonderworks-digital-edition/

I've admired Whelan's work since the 70's, particularly his Lovecraft covers done for Del Rey in 1982 (Which was actually a single painting depicting various Lovecraftian scenarios that Del Rey divided up into six covers- I've always wondered if that was done to save them the expense of commissioning six separate cover paintings) My brother bought the Wonderworks book when it initially came out. This image must've been kicking around in the back of my mind ever since. Nice to draw it back out of the dark and even better to see it hanging on the wall.