A Whale-Sized Passion Nears Mural No. 100

Just south of Main Beach in Laguna Beach, a life-size mural of a California gray whale and her calf floating in a sapphire sea captivates residents and tourists alike.

The mural is more than a nice bit of public art: It’s an internationally known artist’s homage to the city’s sea connection, and the maiden work of what will soon be a completed series of 100 gigantic marine-life murals around the world.

Robert Wyland, who goes by his surname, will paint his 93rd “whaling wall” in New Bedford, Mass., in October. But that first mural, painted in 1981 and re-created in tile in 1996 along South Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, marked the birth of his international journey.

“Art is a powerful medium, and public art can have a profound impact on educating and inspiring people,” said Wyland, 49. “If I could paint enough of these murals, people would begin to care more about whales and conservation of the oceans.”

Chances are, even those who don’t recognize Wyland by name have seen his art. Wyland’s works include towering murals -- such as those at the Long Beach Convention Center and the National Maritime Museum in Auckland, New Zealand -- and the petite -- the ubiquitous “whale tail” license plates seen on California freeways.

Galleries devoted to Wyland’s paintings and sculptures dot the nation, with 10 in Hawaii alone.

The Detroit native first visited Laguna Beach as a 14-year-old in 1971. The vacation gave him his first glimpse of the ocean, and an unforgettable sight: two whales spouting off Main Beach.

“I always say if you see a whale, it changes you,” Wyland said. “The whale became a focal point of my art. I started studying whales and I started diving.”

He moved to the city in 1977 and lived as a starving artist, painting whales and other sea life. But he decided a canvas couldn’t contain the work.

“I realized early on that I needed a bigger canvas and decided to look at the sides of buildings,” he said. “It was a great way for me to learn about whales. I got a sense by painting to scale, life-size. I saw how this public art was raising awareness -- people were asking questions about what type of whales, where they live. I got to tell a story through my murals. That’s continuing today.”

The murals have run into obstacles. A Detroit painting featuring a family of whales was nearly covered over by advertising until the city’s Historic District Commission scuttled the plan.

The Laguna Beach mural has had its share of difficulty: It took years for Wyland, then an unknown, to persuade city leaders to allow him to paint the mural on a wall of the Hotel Laguna parking lot.

Completed in 1981, the mural was repeatedly dinged by cars, prompting him to repaint it in 1986. A decade later, the hotel’s owner decided it was a chipped, peeling eyesore and, to the dismay of many Laguna residents, had it whitewashed. So Wyland re-created the mural in porcelain tile on his studio’s outer wall, directly above its original location.

It has now joined the city’s renowned cove beaches, the Pageant of the Masters and the Sawdust Festival as sites and events that are uniquely Laguna.

“It’s part of the fabric of Laguna Beach now,” Wyland said.

City leaders agree.

“Wyland is an institution in our city,” said Laguna Beach Mayor Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider. “Laguna Beach is about the ocean and marine resources and celebrating all of the wonderful things that we all enjoy about this natural resource, so we ... enjoy and appreciate what Wyland brings through his art as part of who we are.”

Judy Bijlani, executive director of the Laguna Beach Visitors and Conference Bureau, said visitors regularly stop by her office seeking directions to the mural.

“It’s really well known,” she said. “We’re proud to have it here; people definitely admire it.”

But it is not universally loved. Some critics regard it as cartoonish and commercial, his recognizable whales slapped onto commemorative plates, beach towels and throw pillows.

“Wyland doesn’t show at MOCA, and he doesn’t show at any of the hot L.A. galleries,” said Bolton Colburn, Laguna Art Museum director. “Critics don’t deal with his work, because they don’t consider it serious.”

Still, Colburn noted that Wyland’s art is accessible to the public and has made a mark on pop culture. It is also fantastically profitable, creating an art empire worth as much as $80 million.

In Laguna Beach, passersby are struck by the mural, which is 12 feet by 100 feet and consists of hundreds of hand-painted, fire-glazed porcelain tiles. The two whales are framed by frolicking dolphins and sea lions.

“It stands out -- the size of it, for a start, the natural colors,” said Rodney Gordon, 38, of Auckland, New Zealand, who is visiting California with a high school cross-country team.

He now plans to find out where the Wyland mural is in his home country. “It’s well done,” he said.

“The big whale, I love it,” added Jessica Rogers, 22, of Anderson, Ind. “It’s awesome and beautiful.”

Wyland plans to finish his 100th mural in July 2008 in Beijing. Then, he plans to start his next 30-year project -- 100 bronze sea-life sculptures to be placed in 100 cities around the world. Officials from Dana Point and New York City have expressed interest in one of the sculptures, and Wyland hopes his hometown joins the list.

“I’d like to see Laguna get one,” he said. “I have to believe I’ve proven myself, so hopefully they’ll ask me to do one for the city.”