Exhibit at Brooker Creek

Click on the picture for an announcement about upcoming plein air show at Brooker Creek Nature Preserve in Tarpon Springs, FL.

Old Sponge Building, Oil, 9x12"

I painted this picture off the side of the road in Tarpon Springs FL. Tarpon Springs is known for its natural sponge trade and authentic Greek fishing village. This sponge building is located near but not on the main road of the village. Unfortunately it is no longer in use.

Old Sponge Building
Oil on Canvas Panel, 9x12"
$300 unframed

Contact me at JennaStarFriedman@gmail.com if you're interested in buying this painting.
Thanks for visiting!

History of the Hacienda Hotel, New Port Richey, Florida

Click here for more information on the History of the Hacienda Hotel, New Port Richey, Florida

Hacienda, Oil painting by Jenna Star Friedman

The Hacienda Hotel is located on Main Street in New Port Richey, FL along the Cotee River. The Hacienda was built in the 1920's and has an interesting history which I'll insert in my next post. There have been various rumors about the next incarnation for the building but the hotel is not currently in use.
This is a heavily textured oil painting on an 11x14" canvas support. Contact me if you're interested in purchasing this painting. Thanks for visiting!

West Coast Plein Air Paintouts for November 2008

The West Coast Plein Air group will be painting at Brooker Creek Preserve off Keystone Rd. in Tarpon Springs on Fridays for the month of November. Meet in the last parking area (near the entrance to the Education Center) at 9:00 am on 11/7, 11/14, and 11/21. Click on the link below for directions to Brooker Creek:http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&q=brooker+creek+preserve+tarpon+springs+florida&filter=0&sll=28.138635,-82.71363&sspn=0.018284,0.103216&ll=28.16373,- 82.667656&spn=0.076274,0.181274&z=13&iwloc=FPaint on,Jenna www.artofjenna.blogspot.com

West Coast Plein Air in the News

My plein air group made the news! While we were out painting near Pine Island, a reporter and photographer from the St. Petersburg Times came out and interviewed us. The next day, Saturday, Sept. 27, this article appeared in the paper. Read here.

Palms at Green Key Beach

Painted recently en plein air at Green Key Beach, New Port Richey, FL. Our painting group, West Coast Plein Air (a chapter of Plein Air Florida) goes out weekly to paint the landscape. I painted this during our stint at Green Key in New Port Richey. This oil painting is richly textured and colored and reflects the lighting and my impressions of that hot day.

Palms at Green Key Beach
Oil on board, 9x12"
$300, unframed

Contact me if you'd like to purchase this painting with Visa/Mastercard at JennaStarFriedman@gmail.com. Thanks for visiting!

Patio Garden 3, Watercolor

This is the third in the series of paintings I did on my sister's patio in Phoenix. I just realized that I forgot to post this earlier with the others. If you look back a bit in my posts, you'll see two more watercolors of this view. These were all painted on different days of the same subject but with somewhat different focuses. In this particular painting, I used a few different watercolor resist techniques. Can you find them? Thanks for visiting!

Another Path in the Woods, Oil, 8x10" by Jenna Star

I painted this tropical pathway near a kayak trail in Howard Park, Tarpon Springs, in July and recently finished it up in the studio. The paint is highly textured and glazed. If you'd like to purchase this painting through Paypal, contact me at Jennastarfriedman@gmailcom. Thanks for visiting!

Path in the Woods

Lately I've been working on a few unfinished paintings to get them to a point that I'm happier with. I painted this path at Honeymoon Island in plein air a few months ago. I just didn't feel satisfied with it and put it away for a while. Now I've touched it up to where I like it.

Path in the Woods, Oil, 9x12"

Thanks for visiting!

Bird Sketches, Watercolor.

I decided to post a few sketchbook pages that I painted in Phoenix while I was at the hospice with my mom. I usually carry a small drawing/watercolor kit with me anyway, and this turned out to be a good way for me to get through some of the long hours there. I tried painting some of the birds I see often in Florida, as well as a few doves that hung out in the garden there.

Patio Garden 2, Watercolor, 8x10

I painted the same view of my sister's garden several times while I was in Phoenix. In this one, the colors are more intense and I included the view outside her garden wall. This being Phoenix in June, it was very hot, and I wanted to capture the intensity of the heat and sun.

Patio Garden 1, Watercolor, 8x10

I'm posting a series of small watercolor paintings I did while in Arizona from May through June. I went back home to be with my mom. She spent her last month in the Hospice of the Valley in Phoenix as the cancer took over the rest of her body. I was with her every afternoon and night. I saw her pain and confusion and struggle, but also I became aware of a grace I didn't know she had. In the mornings, I painted on my sister's patio and walked her dog. The emotional anquish and impact of this time affected me deeply. I became aware of some changes I needed to implement in my own life, which I have started since returning to Florida. It's not easy. Anyway. Painting is my grounding and my outlet. I need to paint. The next few posts I'll put up some of the little watercolors and sketches I did while waiting with my mom for her next journey.

Path to Honeymoon Beach by Jenna Star

Honeymoon Island continues to be one of my favorite painting spots. This view is of a path leading to the beach on the south side of the island. I am always drawn to places near water, and the gulf here is a beautiful turquoise blue.

Path to Honeymoon Beach
Pastel, 12"x 18" $400-

Email me at JennaStarFriedman@gmail.com if you're interested in purchasing with Paypal. Thanks for visiting!

Painting Award

Here I am next to my painting, "Near the End of the Cotee River", which won an Honorable Mention at the Tarpon Springs Art Association show. The painting is in an exhibit at the Heritage Museum, located on Spring Bayou in Tarpon Springs, FL. You can see this painting in close-up in the previous entry below.

Near the End of the Cotee River by Jenna Star

Painted en plein air recently with my friends of the West Coast Plein Air group. A couple of months ago, we discovered the James Grey Preserve right here in the middle of New Port Richey, FL. We've made many painting expeditions here and will continue to do so, because of the astounding beauty. This is where the Pithlaschacotee River ends. The river is tidal as it goes out to the Gulf of Mexico, so there are low and high water levels every day. The birds and vegetation here are varied and numerous. I did this on one of the first times we went there in February, and there were flocks of hundreds of robins flying and nesting overhead. So this is where they spend their winters, just like all the other (human) snowbirds that populate Florida in the cold months. I just wonder why would they ever want to leave?
"Near the End of the Cotee River" Oil, 11x14" contact me at jennalovesparrots@yahoo.com if you'd like to buy this painting through Paypal. Thanks for visiting!

Trail Ride, Starkey Wilderness Park, FL by Jenna Star Friedman

My daughters and I rode through Starkey Park, Odessa FL when they still offered trail rides. Because of ever-mounting insurance (what else is new) they can no longer rent horses out to the public. We have always loved horses, but can't afford to own them ourselves. It's still a dream of mine to someday have a ranch with many kinds of animals, especially horses.

Trail Ride, Pastel, 12x18"

Howard Beach, 11x14, Oil

This oil painting was done mostly in plein air at the beach in Tarpon Springs and I finished it up recently in the studio. The view is looking west toward Anclote Key in the Gulf of Mexico. This beach is a local gem, one of many I've discovered since moving to Florida a couple of years ago.
Contact me at jennalovesparrots@yahoo.com if you're interested in purchasing this painting through Paypal. Thanks for visiting!

Marsh View by Jenna Star

Marsh grasses lead out to the Gulf of Mexico and a view of some distant palms.

Marsh View, 11x14" Pastel, $300

For more information or to purchase this painting through PayPal: Email me at jennalovesparrots@yahoo.com

Thanks for visiting!