Wyland’s wildlife art has been splashed on massive murals around the world, wrapped around mega cruise ships and prints of his marine scenes hang in countless homes.
Now, his art will be worn on feet.
Wyland and Vans have teamed up to have his art on custom shoes created by the Costa Mesa action-sports brand, a collaboration that will benefit what the artist is known for documenting and preserving: underwater sea creatures.
The first set of shoes made will benefit the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. The limited-edition release of 500 pairs depicts dolphins and whales similar to what’s seen in his original Whaling Wall in Laguna Beach – that first mural is now one of more than 100 around the globe.
The collaboration is part of Vans Foot the Bill program to help small businesses and organizations, many located in Southern California, struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Another collaboration with Vans still in the works will benefit his own nonprofit, the Wyland Foundation, which also gives back to the preservation of sea creatures.
The PMMC shoes show a dolphin and harbor seal frolicking around in kelp.
It was just off Laguna Beach’s coastline the Detroit native decided he wanted to pursue life as an artist, depicting sea creatures like the gray whales he encountered swimming offshore while on vacation in the seaside down as a teenager in the early ’70s.
“I’m always going to be there for good causes. We need to be there for these beautiful marine mammals, they really don’t have a voice,” Wyland said. “As an artist, if I can help raise some money for the effort to protect our marine mammals, whales and beautiful sea creatures, I’m going to be there whether they are a Vans shoes or whatever.”
Wyland connected with Steve Van Doren, son of one of the brand’s founders, Paul Van Doren. The two have known each other for years through connections at the Triple Crown of Surfing contests in Hawaii.
“They are such a giving company,” Wyland said of Vans.
That’s also been the goal of Wyland’s own nonprofit and part of his mission as an artist, he said. “My goal of the Wyland Foundation is to be the artist that gave the most. I’m always going to be proud of that.”
While the shoes benefiting the Pacific Marine Mammal Center are inspired by his first-ever Whaling Wall – the rescue center is located not far away – the artwork is original and was designed in 48 hours, he said.
Since the stay-at-home orders were established in mid-March, all of PMMC’s education programs have been canceled or postponed, and the facility has been closed to the public – a big hit to its revenue and fundraising capabilities.
“The opportunity to not only be part of, but also the beneficiary, of this collaboration with two worldwide brands is more than we could have ever hoped for,” the rescue center’s CEO, Peter Chang, said. “The funds from this program are critical right now, and will go toward our efforts to maintain a positive cash flow for our day-to-day operations. We are thankful for Vans and Wyland and their continued leadership in social responsibility initiatives that have such a broad impact.”
The design for his own Wyland Signature Series, which is just in the start of production, will be based on an existing painting, “Starry Sea Turtle.”
“They’re a cool brand, they are my neighbors,” Wyland said, noting he’s going to be doing a street art mural at the Costa Mesa headquarters. “We have a lot of things in common, with surfing, ocean conservation and basically both being lifestyle brands.”
For Vans, which was founded in Anaheim in 1966, the idea of making custom shoes is how the brand was born.
People would bring in extra fabric they wanted to use in the early days, a practice that was reborn about a decade ago as the apparel company recreated how people could customize their shoes.
“It just shows how people like to have a little bit of special things,” said Van Doren, who these days is Vans’ vice president of events.
The idea of collaborating isn’t new either, with Vans teaming up with big companies such as Disney, to smaller partnerships with artists and, most recently amid the coronavirus pandemic, shops and organizations in need.
When the pandemic hit and many of its retailers began struggling, Vans created Foot the Bill, aimed at small businesses and mom-and-pop shops that have supported the brand through the years.
They at first picked 80 of their best partner retailers in surf and skate across the country and had them create their own custom shoes, 500 pairs of each design, as a way that supporters could purchase something unique with each shop’s logo showcased on the shoes. Half the proceeds go back to the shops.
“If they sold 100 pair, they will get $5,000. All 500 is close to $20,000 to $25,000,” Van Doren said. “It’s something that would really help them with payroll and rent, and we’re really proud of that.”
More than 16 are from the Orange County and Los Angeles areas.
When Vans decided to do another round of partnerships with another 80 companies, the brand dished out golden “checkboard” tickets that employees and team athletes could give to their favorite organization or business in need. Van Doren personally picked three organizations, one of those being the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.
“They do a lot of education, they had to shut all that down,” Van Doren said. “Their main purpose is helping mammals, they have an animal hospital there. They’ve been able to keep that going. It’s Laguna, it’s Southern California.”
That’s when Van Doren called Wyland to get involved.
“He’s a great guy and of course a great artist. He’s always wearing our shoes, I’m proud of that,” Van Doren said. “He’s a real giver of humanity and the ocean.”
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