Meet the 26-year-old artist transforming the Long Island Aquarium, one mural at a time

The walls of the Long Island Aquarium are almost as full as the exhibits and tanks themselves. Sea turtles surf the waves, sharks patrol the sea, a giant eye watches over the fishing cat and now a massive octopus welcomes visitors outside.

That’s all thanks to a 26-year-old artist, and it’s not even her main gig.

Drew Anne O’Connor, who grew up in Babylon, has long had two main interests: art and science. She initially pursued the latter, earning a degree in environmental studies from Molloy College before landing her first job as an aquarist at the aquarium in 2021.

“It was a lot of fun. I loved working as an aquarist, but I didn’t really see a long-term future in the science world for me, even though I loved science,” Ms. O’Connor said. 

As an aquarist, she was responsible for the health and maintenance of fish and aquatic tanks, working with sharks, rays and cephalopods.

She also worked with the aquarium’s former Giant Pacific Octopus, Diego, whom she taught to paint.

“He didn’t actually touch the paint, but I made this whole mechanism where he was able to grab onto a PVC pipe that was connected to brushes, and he had to work the food off,” she said with a smile. “It was a form of enrichment for him because the octopus needs a lot of enrichment, so they don’t get bored and search for a way to escape their tanks.”

She still has Diego’s paintings.

Wanting more art in her life, Ms. O’Connor started her own online business, Designs by Drew, creating custom water bottles, pet portraits and other personal projects.

Eli Fishman, the aquarium’s exhibit manager, saw her work and asked her to join him as an exhibit designer in 2022.

She jumped at the opportunity.

“That was awesome because I got to do art, but also science,” Ms. O’Connor said. “It was a great combination of the two, and I still work for him sometimes. It’s very fun.”

But she still wasn’t convinced it was what she wanted to do long-term. Ms. O’Connor tried teaching a few after-school art classes at ArtSea in Babylon. That’s what stuck.

She went back to school and earned a master’s degree in art education from Adelphi University in 2024. She now teaches art in the Eastport-South Manor Central School District, working with students in grades three through six on ceramics, contemporary art and other projects.

Even after becoming a teacher, Ms. O’Connor has remained connected to the aquarium through her artwork.

Over the past three years, she has created five major murals on the interior and exterior walls of the complex.

She started in May 2023 with a sea turtle in the hallway leading to the aquarium’s rescue center. The mural was based on one of her original paintings submitted to a conservation art contest.

A shark mural near the aquarium’s main entrance followed in June 2023.

In November 2024, she painted the giant eye outside the fishing cat habitat, which she also helped rebuild before the animal arrived. A giant sea turtle mural outside followed last August.

Her latest project — a Giant Pacific Octopus inspired by Diego — is now one of the first things visitors see on their way inside.

“I’ve been wanting to do an octopus for a while,” Ms. O’Connor said. “They’re one of my favorite animals. My logo for my business is an octopus.”

The project took several weeks to complete as Ms. O’Connor worked around summer weather. She used high-quality outdoor paint designed to withstand the elements and mixed many of the colors herself in small plastic takeout containers.

“It gives the building character and really comes to life,” aquarium owner Joe Petrocelli said. “We love the colors and the three-dimensional elements. She did a great job.”

Because she teaches during the school year, Ms. O’Connor completed much of the work over the summer. Some of her students even spotted her painting at the aquarium.

She later had a chance to show off the finished work when she accompanied her third graders on a field trip.

“As we were walking in, we passed by the turtle mural that’s outside, and I said, ‘Hey guys, guess who did that?’” she happily recalled. “They were like, ‘You did that? No way!’ They were so happy to know that I did it.”

With the octopus finished, Ms. O’Connor said she is ready for whatever wall comes next.

“We’ll see how I feel when the time comes,” she said with a laugh.