Waldport artist spent years with Greenpeace but month-long Florence show reflects love of coast

By CHERYL ROMANO/Lincoln Chronicle

If you remember the “Save the Whales” campaign of the 1980s, you’ve probably seen the work of John Parulis of Waldport. But if you haven’t seen his work in photography and painting, your chance is now at the Florence Events Center.

Through Aug. 24, the center’s galleries are spotlighting the creative output of a man who avows “a deep love for the coast and the beauty of open spaces.”

Titled simply “Paintings & Photos”, the free exhibit offers pieces “inspired by the natural beauty of the Oregon Coast and Siuslaw National Forest while reflecting decades of travel, observation, activism, and personal growth.”

While accurate, that umbrella statement just hints at a wildly varied — and sometimes remarkable — life.

From 1983-87, Parulis was the man who used video and film to document the protests of Greenpeace, the global environmental group that clashed famously with the Soviet Union and other countries over the slaughter of whales. Other non-violent, direct protests targeted nuclear weapons, pollution and later climate change, but it was “Save the Whales” that grabbed the world’s attention.

Parulis’ footage was captured on the scene, in boats and in harm’s way, while Greenpeace protestors tried to disrupt commercial whaling by Japan and the Soviet Union. The tactic was to use high-speed inflatable rafts to get between harpoon boats and the whales, and film the encounters. The images of bloodied sea giants sparked an international outcry.

“… pointing AK-47s at us”

In his first Greenpeace year, Parulis was the backup cameraman documenting the protest against illegal Soviet whaling operations off the Siberian coast in the Bering Sea. The Soviet military responded with a warship and a helicopter.

“Soviet troops captured seven of our group at gunpoint,” Parulis recalls. “Although they didn’t capture me, I remember them pointing AK-47s at us.”

Video proof of endangered whales being slaughtered had already been shot by principal cameraman Ron Precious. The Soviets had seized that film, but the warship gave chase to the Greenpeace trawler Rainbow Warrior carrying the rest of the film and the ensuing chase footage.

As the warship closed in, Parulis kept filming. He suggested to the trawler captain that a mate take off with the film in a fast Zodiac and make a run for Nome, Alaska, about 60 nautical miles away. Although the Soviets captured the man, the film and the Zodiac were eventually saved. The arrested crew members were later released. Pieces of the resulting video were used by media all over the world — including the CBS news magazine “60 Minutes.”

During eight Greenpeace campaigns on both land and sea Parulis was never arrested — “I was lucky” — but he did have some memorable encounters with astronomer Carl Sagan and actor Martin Sheen.

Gun-toting Soviets were a world away from Parulis’ pre-Greenpeace life. At the time of his recruitment as a videographer, he was immersed in the Eastern mysticism movement in a San Francisco ashram “in the fumes of the hippie era”, he says. He’s still a practitioner of Raja yoga, a type of meditation said to promote physical and mental discipline.

“I was attending film school at the time and met (Greenpeace co-founder) Patrick Moore. He hired me on the spot.” His main Greenpeace stint stretched through 1987; in 2013, he livestreamed a San Francisco protest against Soviet persecution of anti- oil-drilling activists.

Denali, drones, websites and tile

Parulis was born in Worcester, Mass., and spent much of his youth on Cape Cod. He learned photography from his father and several of his father’s black-and-white shots are incorporated into the Florence exhibit.

Parulis ventured to California after college in Massachusetts. In the years that followed he earned a degree in website development, snagged California and Oregon contractor licenses  tile and stone work, climbed to the summit of Denali, North America’s highest mountain in Alaska, and became a certified drone pilot.

Along the way, “I never stopped drawing, painting and photographing,” he says. “The kinetics of putting a human hand to something — whether pottery, jewelry, painting or photography — it’s part of my spirit.”

Parulis has exhibited his artwork in galleries from Florida to California and Oregon, and his giant sculpture titled “Truth” was a feature at the Burning Man Festival in Nevada. That spirit will be on display at the Florence Event Center galleries through Aug. 24. A public reception is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Aug. 19.

Like so many transplants to the Oregon coast, Parulis and his wife, Samantha, a writer and artist, happened on the area incidentally. Driving the coast from their home in San Rafael, Calif., they passed through south Lincoln County in 2016 to visit the White Wolf Sanctuary in Tidewater.

Three years later, a home-scouting trip brought them to Waldport. “When we saw Bayshore, with its sand dunes and beaches, we said ‘Bingo, this is like home’.” In 2020 they made Bayshore their home.

“I’ve travelled the Pacific Coast from Alaska to Mexico, and there is nothing like the Oregon coast,” Parulis says.

These days, when he isn’t creating art that hangs on walls, he stays busy with other pursuits including tile and stone work for private homes and public spaces.

He also offers livestreaming services and drone work for a variety of clients.

As the Florence exhibit introduces more people to his photography and painting, Parulis has a goal for those who view his art. Asked what response he hopes to evoke, he has one word: “Magic.”

“Art acts on the brain,” he says, “and goes into your heart.”

• Cheryl Romano is a Yachats freelance writer who contributes regularly to Lincoln Chronicle. She can be reached at [email protected]