Is Robert Wyland Manic?

Visitors to Hawaii seem to love Robert Wyland’s work. He’s the marine artist and entrepreneur whose paintings and prints are selling like crazy. Local residents – especially the "fine artists" who capture Hawaii’s essence and beauty – don’t seem to love him as much. In the past few years he has seemed a little manic with all the projects he has going.  It’s the "entrepreneur" part of his work they resent. His self-themed Waikiki hotel opened recently. He keeps a penthouse office and apartment there.  Then last week he called a news conference that was sort of all over the place. He barely touched on his one hundredth – and final – "Whaling Wall" mural, which will feature 45-by-12-foot canvasses painted by children, each representing aquatic life in their homelands. Out of almost nowhere he announced his plan to take over the historic Coco Palms property on Kauai and develop it. He said he wants to create a Hawaii license plate to help raise money to preserve the Turtle Bay area on Oahu at the same time he is quibbiling with the California Coastal Commission over the use of a fundraising plate he designed for them. On July 22nd, he will unveil in China the first of 100 life-size sculptures of sea life he will create.

Add comment July 6th, 2008

Bryan Clay News

Bryan Clay, a former Hawaii high-school track star, will be in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics.  He almost didn’t get past high school.  One of his teachers characterizes him as having been, as a kid, arrogant and defiant, a handful and a rascal … as well as talented.  He could have been a good criminal, the teacher points out.

Now, Clay – at 28 — will be competing in his second Olympic decathlon.  He won the silver medal in 2004 and hopes for the gold this year after winning the U.S. trials with the best decathlon score by an American in 16 years, and the best in the world in four years.  After his struggles with the academics and disciplines of his youth, he remembers gratefully that teacher pushing him – even giving him an "F" in phys ed — to channel his energies properly.  Today, Clay is deeply religious, devoted to his wife and their two young children, and a supremely disciplined athlete.  That discipline is essential in his event – a series of ten grueling tests of an athlete’s skills and endurance. 

Hawaii will be watching his progress anxiously come August. 

Add comment July 6th, 2008