Seahorse Beginnings and Painting Skyscrapers with Deanna Derosia (#21)

Deanna DeRosia is a marine biologist and artist. Deanna’s artwork has ranged from hallway sea life murals to painting fifty foot animals on skyscrapers in Silicon Valley. Though art always intrigued her, Deanna didn’t know that she wanted to be a marine biologist, or that it was even a career option until after she graduated university. She got her start working with seahorses, and this opportunity opened the doors to the rest of her career. Deanna has since worked with sea turtles, and co-founded a marine conservation nonprofit focusing on educating the public on plastic issues, sea turtles, invasive marine species, and restoring a local waterbody.

In today’s episode, we chat about how Deanna got her start in the seahorse lab, why going back to grad school was the right choice for her (and how she found her people there), and tips and tricks on how to paint a giant mural!

Connect with Deanna: website|instagram

Gulper Eel
Leatherback sea turtle
Sebastian, FL
Drisophila
Florida Institute of Technology
Florida State University
Pelican Island Audubon Society
Ecological Associates, Inc. (EAI)
Coastal Connections, Inc.
California State University of Monterey Bay Science Illustration Program
Sealacanth Studios
Migrating Mural
Guy Harvey
Deanna’s Instagram
Florida’s Wildlife Corridor

02:30 The current favorite spooky marine creature of an illustrator
4:00 the perfect, reptilian ambassador for the ocean
5:00 didn’t consider marine biology as a career until after graduating undergrad! College is a time for experimentation and figuring out what you like.
7:45 the uses of sea horses in chinese medicine
9:00 Deanna’s ultimate childhood dream: to make the next “Rocko’s Modern Life”
13:10 opening up doors through internships and getting paid to paint murals!
16:40 making the leap from sea horses to sea turtles, making connections.
24:15 pursuing a higher art degree, despite already having freelance work and finding your people
30:00 the power of art: migrating murals and painting 50’ butterflies on eleven story skyscrapers in San Francisco “creating butterflies so they’re hard to ignore”
40:56 Deanna’s favorite field stories: the truth behind painting murals. It’s not sitting with a cup of coffee and getting a dot of paint on you. The people of the general public are the best and most interesting part of the job in both the art and science world.
44:56 Ask for the audience: plastic pollution is one of the main threats facing our oceans. The way to fix this problem is to reduce our plastic consumption. Unfortunately, our recycling systems don’t work the way we previously thought.