Have you or any of your friends ever been subjected to being in the pool room at Lamphere High and have seen a wall full of whales? Or maybe you’ve been to Comerica Park and seen a whale mural nearby? Well either way, both are courtesy of Robert Wyland, a Michigan native. He was given the opportunity to talk to current Lamphere students last Thursday, and he gave us a lot of advice on pursuing dreams.

Starting with his backstory, he was in California as a kid off the shore and while being in love with the ocean something totally unexpected happened. A whale came up right in front of him establishing his new found love. The ocean. He bases his work off of marine life, his deep love for the ocean bleeds all over the world to his murals world wide ranging from America all the way to Canada and Beijing. With his biggest achievement, the world record, 3.8-acre American flag painted on the Legendary Marina building in Destin, Florida.

Mr. Wyland’s passion started when he was young, specifically when he was in fourth grade. His teacher at the time, Mr. Stevens, “planted a seed” for Robert’s start with art—which is still an important memory he holds with him ‘till this day. After graduating from Lamphere though, he didn’t get right into painting. Instead, Mr. Wyland got a job at a factory and lost it within the same day. The loss only motivated him to go and actually pursue what he wanted to do. While briefly living in Detroit, Robert had made an art studio in the basement. While everyone didn’t believe in him he was alone and sometimes that’s all you need considering the massive success he claimed with his story.

He graduated from Lamphere High School and lived in Detroit briefly for two years before moving to California to pursue his passion: art. He has painted over a hundred murals across America with the first one being in California. Speaking of murals, he holds the world record for the largest mural ever painted, located at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California. Additionally, his dedication with painting whales has spread across the globe essentially. He has numerous murals in the U.S, along with some overseas like one being located in Cuba.

Going back to when Wyland came and spoke at Lamphere, he spoke about the endeavors he’s experienced and how it shaped him to be the person he is currently. He spoke about his journey from how he started at Lamphere to where he is now and how successful he has become from following his dreams of being an artist. His goal is to inspire others to follow their dreams as well because that’s where true happiness comes from.

“You can’t protect one piece of water without protecting all of it.” A quote from Wyland. He is a proud conservationist of wildlife, specifically things within the water on our planet. Robert Wyland is known for his large murals of whales and other aquatic creatures. He uses these art pieces to influence others to help his efforts of protecting our environment; “Instead of wasting water we need to protect it.”