Whale artist: Kids can save the oceans

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- For more than two decades, artist Robert Wyland -- simply known as Wyland -- has wowed people with his giant whale murals that cover the walls of city parking decks, high-rises, convention centers and hotels around the world.

They are an expression of his love of the sea and all its inhabitants, he says. Wyland, a conservation advocate, believes art can change the way people, kids especially, look at the ocean.

"Art can play a role in the 21st century for conservation of clean water and healthy oceans," he says. "There are things we can do everyday to protect water and conserve it."

Wyland is taking his campaign for clean water across the nation. Wyland and his non-profit Wyland Foundation will visit kids at zoos, aquariums and schools showing them how they can help conserve water. Watch Wyland paint a whale shark »

"If we are going to keep the oceans clean we need to think about what we are doing here on land. We need to protect the rivers, the lakes, the ponds, the streams, the estuaries -- it's all connected. Every drop of water on the planet is connected," Wyland explained.

Along with mural painting with children, Wyland's Clean Water Challenge tour includes a mobile learning truck where participants can learn about water quality. He hopes to encourage everyone to reduce water waste by 10 million gallons or more over the next year.

Wyland and his team kicked off their campaign at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta on October 7. Stops along the East and West coasts as well Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; and Phoenix, Arizona, are planned over the next month.

At the Georgia Aquarium, Wyland was surround by children who joined him in painting a mural that will hang inside the aquarium.

"I got to paint a whale shark with kids. That was fun," he said. "We have some great artists here in Georgia."

"Looking fantastic, everyone. Keep painting!" Wyland shouted enthusiastically.

Roxie Stricker, 8, from Atlanta, Georgia, asked Wyland if she could paint a baby right whale tail right next to his adult right whale tail. "What a great idea," Wyland responded.

Wyland says that when children paint their favorite animals of the sea, they become more aware and sensitive to those animals' needs. And it's this awareness that can make a difference.

"I learned that we should start saving water and stop throwing trash in it," said Stricker.

"I believe that this art is going to make a difference and these kids are going to change the world," Wyland said. "Every drop counts."

Growing up in Detroit, Michigan, Wyland, 51, was surrounded by lakes but it was the ocean that captured his imagination.

"I was inspired by Jacques Cousteau," Wyland says. "He was my hero."

At 14, he traveled west to visit his aunt in Southern California.

"I jumped into the ocean and I immersed myself in the Pacific for the first time. And as I came up two gray whales were migrating along the coast and spouted right in front of me and that changed my life," he says.

Those two whales became the subject for his first Whaling Wall in 1981 in Laguna Beach, California. Over the past 26 years he has painted 95 Whaling Walls. See some of Wyland's amazing Whaling Walls »

He collects no fee for his murals. Each is a gift to its city.

In 1993, he entered the Guinness Book of World Records for painting the largest mural in the world. Wyland's "Planet Ocean" mural wraps around the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, California. The mural, depicting a variety of sea life, is 1,280 feet in diameter and 185 feet high.

He will reach his goal of 100 murals in the summer of 2008 in Beijing, China. Wyland, along with student artists, will paint an epic mural that will span nearly 3 miles. The Beijing Olympics will be his inspiration. He's been selected as the official artist for the U.S. Olympic team.

Wyland won't be taking any breaks after he completes his 100th Whaling Wall. He plans on tackling 100 over-sized bronze marine-life sculptures for 100 cities around the world. E-mail to a friend

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