Hansen: Seeing a whale ‘changes your DNA,’ Wyland says

Wyland is a force of nature.

The unrelenting 58-year-old artist, known for his epic whale murals, has been so consistent in his vision, art and environmental campaigns that he now resembles the whales he paints: plodding, predictable and yet somehow still majestic.

His empire grosses $75 million to $100 million a year, according to several reports. He has studio homes in various locations around the world and hangs out with famous people like he’s their brother. He travels anywhere, any time, to support the Wyland machine.

And we’re not just talking dreamy whale paintings. There are sculptures, jewelry, books, CDs, mouse pads, clothing, calendars and more.

You can even buy Wyland bottled water.

Perhaps not surprising, it all started in Laguna Beach, back when he was known as Robert Wyland. His first gallery is at 509 S. Coast Hwy.

“Things happen in life, I believe, for a reason, so there was a reason I was drawn to Laguna,” he said.

As a wide-eyed young teenager from Michigan, he visited the area with his family.

“I happened to be right at the beach when the gray whales were migrating very close to shore, and I saw two gray whales break the surface and spout right in front of me, and it literally changed my life,” he said. “It was like seeing dinosaurs. I still get excited. When I see a whale in Hawaii or Laguna, I get that same feeling I had when I was 14 years old. I tell people, ‘When you see a whale it changes your DNA.’”

But for years Wyland was like a fish out of water. No one believed him when he said he was going to paint 100 large-scale murals, starting with the Laguna location in 1981.

“I always do what I say,” he said. “It took me 27 years to do it, but I’m proud that I followed up on my challenge to create 100 ocean murals around the world.”

This shark-like instinct to move forward does not always sit well with his peers. Wyland admits he sometimes has been a punching bag in the art community because of his artistic style and headstrong commercialization, but now he doesn’t have time to pay attention to the detractors.

“When you’re an artist you’re used to that anyway,” he said. “We’ve been out there trying to bring a positive message of art and conservation.”

Critics contend his art is not something that typically would be picked up by museums — although it has been — because it’s too mass produced.

Wyland readily admits he markets his products and sees absolutely no problem in doing that, because it gives him the freedom to pursue multiple projects.

“I worked really hard to keep the balance and try to be successful so that I could have a nonprofit and try to give something back,” he said. “That’s really the thing that kept me so motivated and so inspired for so many years.”

When he educates and paints with children, such as recently on the cancer ward at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, he encourages them to think big.

“I had no idea what a brand was when I started,” he said. “It turns out an artist can actually be a brand. When I talk to kids I say, ‘Think of yourselves as a brand, and then everything you do will either support your brand or diminish it.’

“So make good decisions, work hard — don’t think that you can’t dream big. Go after big things. Don’t let anybody tell you you can’t do anything. If you can dream it, you can do it.”

Wyland has done it. His whale license plates are on hundreds of thousands of cars. He has hosted several television series, including ones on the Discovery Channel and American Public Television. He has significant alliances with Disney, the United States Olympic Committee, the World Wildlife Fund and dozens of other organizations.

He even has a United Nations stamp, which I never knew existed.

“The thing I’m most proud of is painting with a million kids in the last 30 years in all 50 states and nearly 100 countries around the world,” he said. “That’s the legacy that I hope to have — that I inspired a generation of kids to be youth ambassadors for the planet.”

To that end, his next great challenge is to build 100 “monumental sculptures,” of which 10 will be underwater.

“When you do something good it just comes back at you 10-fold and fills up your soul,” Wyland said. “It inspires you to continue on your journey once you know you’re out there doing good things, important things.

“And I’ve been around long enough now that kids who grew up and painted with me are now marine biologists or conservationists. It’s just an incredible feeling, I guess, so that’s what art is too. It’s really a feeling. I’m glad people are feeling the art.”

DAVID HANSEN is a writer and Laguna Beach resident. He can be reached at [email protected].