"WHALING WALL #95: KEYS
TO THE SEAS" by Wyland
Key Largo, Florida
Contributed
by Barbara Morgan of Pahrump, Nevada
Barbara
Morgan
If you've ever seen a photo
of a painting of leaping killer whales or undersea
vistas, it's a very good bet that you've seen
one of the masterpieces created by the artist
known by the single name of Wyland. Wyland started
his career studying painting and sculpture at
the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit,
Michigan in 1976. In 1977, he painted his first
exterior murals in California and opened the
now-famous Wyland Studio Gallery in Laguna Beach,
California in 1978. In 2009, he painted the
largest depiction of earth ever paintd on top
of the Long Beach Sports Arena in celebration
of Earth Day 2009. In 1981, he embarked on a
mission to paint 100 "Whaling Walls"
by 2011 to call attention to the magnificent
sea creatures and marine life. He finished this
quest in 2008 when he painted a gigantic mural
-- 2,430 feet long and 10 feet high -- in Beijing,
China.
The mural above was dedicated
on February 12, 2007 in Key Largo, Florida.
7,500 square feet in size, it covers the wall
of a four-story building, located at mile maker
99.2 of US Hwy 1 in the center of the freeway.
"It's the gateway to the
Florida Keys," Wyland said, going on to
credit his frequent Keys reef dives as the ongoing
inspiration for his work. "The idea was
to welcome people as they drove in from South
Florida with a depiction of the sun warming
the tropical waters here - taking people above
and below the surface to see the tremendous
abundance of marine life and color."
