CLEARWATER, Fla. — The city of Clearwater commissioned Florida artists to paint the first murals in Coachman Park last month, which underwent an $84 million transformation along the downtown waterfront and reopened earlier this year.

What You Need To Know

  • The three new murals showcase a butterfly, osprey and dolphins

  •  All the artists are from Florida 

  • The white peacock butterfly mural painted by artist Alyssa Marie is expected to be a big photo-op draw

  • The city said public art will bring even more visitors to Coachman Park

“Art in general is just a draw for people,” said Amber Brice, Arts and Cultural Affairs Coordinator. “They want to take pictures in front of murals.”

The city expects the white peacock butterfly mural painted by artist Alyssa Marie, 32, from Pinellas Park, to be a big photo-op draw. When visitors stand in front of the butterfly mural, the wings appear to be coming out of their bodies.

“We did a public survey of what people wanted to see in the park and that was one of the things that kept coming up was wings like we see in Nashville,” said Brice. “So, we really wanted to put that in first.”

Marie has painted over 75 murals from Puerto Rico to New Mexico and said she had to get the perfect size for the butterfly in order for the optical illusion to work.

“There’s a lot of detail that has to go into those wings. I want them to be really magnificent,” she said. “When people stand in front of the butterfly, I want it to feel like there’s realistic butterfly wings behind them.”

The other two murals showcase dolphins and an osprey. The osprey mural was painted by artist Ernesto Maranjie from Miami.

The city installed walls in the park specifically for murals. The butterfly and osprey murals are on smaller walls near the entrance. Miami artist Sonny Behan, 36, got the overlook wall, the biggest in the park, for his dolphin mural.

“This is a small wall for me, though,” he said. “There’s a lot of concrete going on. So, it’s good that a little bit of color is being added to it.”

Behan said his dolphin mural is perfect for the waterfront park.

“They’re quite symbolic of Clearwater,” he said. “The abundance of dolphins in the Gulf.”

The city commissioned the three artists for $37,000 total to paint the murals. The smaller walls cost $6,000 each, while the big overlook wall was $25,000. Brice said public art always draws more visitors to a location.

Marie, who moved from Englewood, Colorado to Florida about seven years ago to pursue her artistic dream, said she’s honored to have her work featured in Coachman Park where the public can engage with it.

“I’m so thrilled just to be here truly. To be able to share what I love so much,” she said. “This is a piece of my soul that I get to give to the community and have them interact with.”

Brice said the city will also add sculptures along with interactive and play art to Coachman Park.