Wyland Whaling Wall, Key Largo
Text and Photos by Andy Newman
Key Largo, Florida Keys - Marine life artist Wyland, who has painted mammoth "Whaling Wall" murals around the world to promote ocean conservation, has completed his last wall painting in the United States and it's in the Florida Keys.
A 7,500-square-foot representation of the living coral reef that parallels the Keys, the Wyland mural wraps around a four-story, four-sided building at mile marker 99.2 in the median of the Overseas Highway that bisects Key Largo.
It is the final mural in the domestic United States, #95, in a planned series of 100 mammoth marine murals that Wyland intends to paint. The project began in 1981, with murals #96 - 100 scheduled overseas. Popular gamefish artist Guy Harvey contributed his talent and creativity to the Key Largo mural as well, painting indigenous Keys gamefish and sharks.
Among a plethora of marine critters is a stingray that pays homage to Steve Irwin. Irwin, best known for his television series 'The Crocodile Hunter,' tragically died in September 2006, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray spine while snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
"This is a mural that is really the gateway to the Florida Keys," said Wyland. "I'm a diver so I take all that inspiration and all that beauty and simply paint it up on the wall for people to enjoy."
Wyland, who has residences in California, Hawaii and the Keys credits the Keys reef, the only contiguous coral expanse in North America, for inspiring much of his work. The completed mural features islands, sunset, manatees, manta rays, corals, indigenous fish and bottlenose dolphins in honor of a stranded pregnant dolphin and her unborn calf currently being treated at a Key Largo marine mammal rehabilitation center.
Like Wyland's previous walls, the Key Largo mural is designed to motivate environmental awareness and stewardship, particularly in children.
"Art is something that can touch people's emotion," said Wyland, who began the Key Largo wall Feb. 1st and wrapped it on the 24th. "You can choose not to go into a gallery or a museum, but you can't ignore a giant mural like this. If people see this beauty, I know they'll want to get involved in protecting it."
Interactive maps and more information on the Keys and Key Largo may be found at www.fla-keys.com.
Text and Photos by Andy Newman
Key Largo, Florida Keys - Marine life artist Wyland, who has painted mammoth "Whaling Wall" murals around the world to promote ocean conservation, has completed his last wall painting in the United States and it's in the Florida Keys.
A 7,500-square-foot representation of the living coral reef that parallels the Keys, the Wyland mural wraps around a four-story, four-sided building at mile marker 99.2 in the median of the Overseas Highway that bisects Key Largo.
It is the final mural in the domestic United States, #95, in a planned series of 100 mammoth marine murals that Wyland intends to paint. The project began in 1981, with murals #96 - 100 scheduled overseas. Popular gamefish artist Guy Harvey contributed his talent and creativity to the Key Largo mural as well, painting indigenous Keys gamefish and sharks.
Among a plethora of marine critters is a stingray that pays homage to Steve Irwin. Irwin, best known for his television series 'The Crocodile Hunter,' tragically died in September 2006, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray spine while snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
"This is a mural that is really the gateway to the Florida Keys," said Wyland. "I'm a diver so I take all that inspiration and all that beauty and simply paint it up on the wall for people to enjoy."
Wyland, who has residences in California, Hawaii and the Keys credits the Keys reef, the only contiguous coral expanse in North America, for inspiring much of his work. The completed mural features islands, sunset, manatees, manta rays, corals, indigenous fish and bottlenose dolphins in honor of a stranded pregnant dolphin and her unborn calf currently being treated at a Key Largo marine mammal rehabilitation center.
Like Wyland's previous walls, the Key Largo mural is designed to motivate environmental awareness and stewardship, particularly in children.
"Art is something that can touch people's emotion," said Wyland, who began the Key Largo wall Feb. 1st and wrapped it on the 24th. "You can choose not to go into a gallery or a museum, but you can't ignore a giant mural like this. If people see this beauty, I know they'll want to get involved in protecting it."
Interactive maps and more information on the Keys and Key Largo may be found at www.fla-keys.com.
