Suzanne Elizabeth Murphy, Illustrator/Author: Mirabelle and the Sea Green Bathtub
Season 2, Episode 308, Dec 19, 06:34 PM
Nanette Wiser met Suzanne Elizabeth Murphy through her book designer, Pamela Joy Trow. Mirabelle and the Sea Green Bathtub is both written and illustrated by Suzanne, who is a fine artist and author. What started as an idea many years ago while scuba diving, Suzanne's book project was just awarded Creative Pinellas 2024-2025 Artist Grant. It is a magical, lyrical exploration underwater with Mirabelle who meets denizens of the deep, discovers the importance of coral and helps children (and adults) understand why are oceans matter and how to help conserve them.
A Kansas City native, she took classes at the Kansas City Art Institute and worked as a fashion illustrator. She moved to New York City in 1976 where she studied theatrical costume, set and lighting at the Polakov Studio and Forum of Stage Design. Suzanne and her husband spent the next 11 years in Colorado, building and living in a 2500 sq. ft. strawbale house. There, Suzanne first began to paint on canvas. In 2007, Suzanne turned her artist’s eye to the riches of Florida. She now paints and exhibits at Open Sky Studio & Gallery which she founded in 2008 on the Gulf Coast. Until 2020, she taught painting classes and served on her town’s Public Art Committee, acquiring art to place outdoors. Her favorite art installation was a 6’4” bronze mermaid with a tail and legs that graces the banks of a bayou in a local historic park. Her most important project for the last two years has been her full color children’s book, Mirabelle and the Sea Green Bathtub, which she has authored and illustrated with her paintings on canvas. Deeply moved by her experiences as a scuba diver, she has seen for herself the fragile beauty of the coral reef below. Born under the water sign of Pisces, meaning “fish”, Suzanne now lives in her small town of Tarpon Springs, known for its Greek sponge divers and fishermen and where water as bayou, river, lake and gulf is everywhere. www.suzanneelizabethmurphy.com. Her children’s book may be purchased at seagreenbathtub.com or from Suzanne at her studio and gallery, 907 Klosterman Road East, Tarpon Springs, Florida.
#Open Sky Studio & Gallery #suzanneelizabethmurphy #oceanadventures #book #children'sbook #coralreefs #oceansustainability #marinelife #artist #pamelajoytrow #nanettewiser #saveourcoralreefs #creativepinellas #stpete #stpetefl #tampabay #radio #radiostpete
A Kansas City native, she took classes at the Kansas City Art Institute and worked as a fashion illustrator. She moved to New York City in 1976 where she studied theatrical costume, set and lighting at the Polakov Studio and Forum of Stage Design. Suzanne and her husband spent the next 11 years in Colorado, building and living in a 2500 sq. ft. strawbale house. There, Suzanne first began to paint on canvas. In 2007, Suzanne turned her artist’s eye to the riches of Florida. She now paints and exhibits at Open Sky Studio & Gallery which she founded in 2008 on the Gulf Coast. Until 2020, she taught painting classes and served on her town’s Public Art Committee, acquiring art to place outdoors. Her favorite art installation was a 6’4” bronze mermaid with a tail and legs that graces the banks of a bayou in a local historic park. Her most important project for the last two years has been her full color children’s book, Mirabelle and the Sea Green Bathtub, which she has authored and illustrated with her paintings on canvas. Deeply moved by her experiences as a scuba diver, she has seen for herself the fragile beauty of the coral reef below. Born under the water sign of Pisces, meaning “fish”, Suzanne now lives in her small town of Tarpon Springs, known for its Greek sponge divers and fishermen and where water as bayou, river, lake and gulf is everywhere. www.suzanneelizabethmurphy.com. Her children’s book may be purchased at seagreenbathtub.com or from Suzanne at her studio and gallery, 907 Klosterman Road East, Tarpon Springs, Florida.
#Open Sky Studio & Gallery #suzanneelizabethmurphy #oceanadventures #book #children'sbook #coralreefs #oceansustainability #marinelife #artist #pamelajoytrow #nanettewiser #saveourcoralreefs #creativepinellas #stpete #stpetefl #tampabay #radio #radiostpete