Wyland Galleries Hollywood

Saturday night, we spent the evening in Hollywood, in hopes to meet the Brodster's favorite artist, Robert Wyland. If you are not familiar with his work, Wyland is a marine life artist who brings awareness to environmental conservation. Wyland is dedicated to teaching the world to become caring of our ocean, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and wetlands.

My mother introduced Brody to Wyland's work through his show on PBS, Wyland's Art Studio. Each episode, Wyland teaches how to paint his favorite subjects, usually marine life. Brody loves it! In 30 minutes, a blank canvas transforms into a bright, colorful piece of the ocean. What we recently discovered is that he collaborates with Disney. Man, if we were rich, we'd buy the whole collection! 

At his gallery, the crowd watched him paint a sea turtle in about 30 minutes (my camera phone does not do it justice).  That was while taking breaks to talk to individuals and take photographs.  He is incredibly down to earth and so welcoming to everyone. It was great to see that, since he is one of Brody's heroes.

What made this an especially awesome night was Brody's experience. When we first arrived, the gallery had complimentary wine, cheese, and chocolate. Obviously, the wine is for adults, but the Brodster was lucky enough to get all the cheese and chocolate he wanted. The gallery is partnered with the candy shop, Sweet!, so they hooked it up with chocolate shaped as sea creatures, including this huge dolphin chocolate pop. 

Once Wyland arrived, he began talking to the crowd about his work and how it helps the environment. As he began to paint, he asked if there were any questions. Brody had drawn a beluga whale in crayon and brought it with him, so he pipes up and says "I drew something!" Wyland came right over to check it out and then held it up for all to see. You can imagine how exciting this is for a 6-year old. Wyland then signed it for him! The Brodster was on cloud nine for the rest of the night.

Turns out, Wyland does meet and greets at his galleries often. If you would like to meet him, here is his current schedule. The Wyland Facebook page posts about his upcoming events too. The galleries are incredibly welcoming to all that want to learn more and I highly recommend you take the time to check them out.