Wyland was born in Detroit, Michigan. He was a student of the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit and majored in sculpture and painting. After graduating, Professors Jay Holland, Russel Keeter and Bill Gerard urged Wyland to relocate to California where he could continue to improve on his already evident artistic talent.

Wyland has earned the reputation of being one of America’s most exceptional innovative influences, as well as an outspoken advocate for marine resource conservation. His non-profit Wyland Foundation supports several conservation programs, including his monumental "100 Whaling Walls" mural project — an epic series of one hundred life sized marine life murals that spans twelve countries on four continents, and is viewed by an estimated 1 billion people every year. The project is now documented in a deluxe Collector's Fine Art Book - one of 20 this prolific artist has written and published so far. The artist’s efforts, moreover, have been recognized by the United Nations, Sierra Club, the Underwater Academy of Arts and Sciences, where he is listed among its Diving Hall of Fame, and private and public institutions throughout the world.