It only takes marine artist Wyland about 20 minutes to paint a dolphin as part of a mural – making it look so easy that onlookers merely shake their heads in wonder.
His art ranges from paintings and murals to photography to sculptures.
When he’s actually in the water photographing, say, whales, he prefers to do it with just mask, fins and snorkel.
“The bubbles [from a scuba tank] are very intimidating,” he told DeeperBlue during a brief interview at the DEMA Show, where he is working to complete a mural during the trade show itself.
Wyland’s nonprofit foundation just finished the second year of the “Wyland Ocean Challenge ‘Clean Water for the 21st Century’” campaign, an international classroom program that uses an art-based, interdisciplinary approach to environmental education and conservation, according to his Web site.
“Last year we did the East Coast, this year we did the West Coast all the way down to La Paz, [Mexico] and next year we’re doing Canada” and portions of the Midwest, he said.
So far, the campaign has reached about 70 million people, according to Wyland.
His next project is to complete a mural in New Bedford, MA, as part of his “Whaling Wall” project, a 20-year effort to raise environmental awareness by painting 100 murals around the world. “93 down, seven to go,” he said.
