Issue link: https://jmane.uberflip.com/i/445943
58 One lazy Saturday in August of 2014 I had the privilege of speaking with Wyland. While sitting at Starbucks in Lahaina, drinking my Chai Latte, he called me. I had never met him, so the first few minutes were spent getting to know each other. We discovered that we both share a great love of Maui (he lived here for several years), and for nature, particularly the ocean and its inhabitants. But what seemed to create almost an instant sense of kinship between us was our attitude about service - the finding paint under the kitchen sink. I was fascinated with dinosaurs, and the more I painted, the smaller the paper seemed. I wanted to go big, so I had the idea of pulling my parents bed away from the wall and painting a jurassic mural on the back of their headboard. QUINE How did your fascination with dinosaurs morph into one with whales? WYLAND I grew up in Michigan near the great lakes, so water has always been a drawing force in my life - in fact, my sign is Cancer, a water sign. At 14 my mom took me and my three brothers to visit our aunt in Laguna Beach. Everyone has some life-changing moments while growing up, this was to be mine. While playing in the ocean, just after coming up from a wave, I opened my eyes to see two gigantic grey whales so close that I could practically count the barnacles growing on them. This was the closest thing to seeing a dinosaur, and I'm pretty sure that it changed my DNA forever. QUINE That sounds amazing! So when did you start painting the whaling walls? WYLAND Ten years later. I did my first mural on the side of the Hotel Laguna in 1981. It's still there today, and you can see it from the beach. Afterwards I was interviewed by Gordan Grant of the Los Angeles Times who asked me what my next plan was. I immediately said "I'm going to paint 100 of them!" True to my word, I did just that, although it took me 27 years. The final wall was almost a mile long, painted on canvas, and done for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The theme was "Hands across the Ocean." Hundreds of children from over WYLAND s t a r t e d o ff a s a n a r t i s t , a n d t h e n d e c i d e d h e w o u l d h e l p c h a n g e t h e w o r l d . INTERVIEW ABOVE | Wyland painting lifesize humpback breaching in Waikiki, 1984. RIGHT | Artist taking photos of a humpback, 2000. recognition that when we pursue helping others and the planet above trying to get what we want out of life, all our dreams come true. In that spirit, I asked him about his inspirations, achievements and hopes for the future. QUINE You're well known for your giant murals and artwork. At what point in your life did you start painting? WYLAND I remember making my own paint brushes when I was very young, and BY JAMES QUINE