Jennifer Valenzuela is a fine art painter located on the island of Maui, HI. She has enjoyed studying and creating art, specializing in oil paintings for most of her life. Born in Oregon, attending art school and launching her career in San Francisco, she’s found herself working and living on Maui since 2008. Jennifer works in a unique style that is inspired by the exploration of sense of place, ‘olelo no’eau’s (Hawaiian teachings), philosophy, and the magic of landscapes. As a professional artist she has created a style she refers to as "imagined landscapes" and has been featured in various shows throughout Hawaii, New York, Texas and the San Francisco Bay area.

Her artistic process begins with exploring the natural environment of the island and getting a sense of the energy of her surroundings. She researches to discover a poignant and inspiring olelo no’eau, which she then translates into a visual representation that is simultaneously inspired by energy of tropical landscapes. Inspired by the history of the Hawaiian people and of the land, she attempts to subtly educate the viewer on the depth of Hawaiian philosophies and culture, while celebrating the beauty of landscape elements in order to project the viewer into another world. “I want to harness the feelings of a place and transport my viewer. My work hearkens back to a mid-century aesthetic and time, I play with images such as long-boards, wave patterns, mountains, tropical foliage, spacial relationships, and the physics of time and space.”

Jennifer paints with oil on wood panel and often embellishes her compositions with gold leaf, utilizing a traditional method to demonstrate an honoring of nature. She allows elements of her initial charcoal markings to reveal her artistic process. “There is much to be learned from ancient cultures that have a deep connection to the land, sea, and stars. I hope to engage my audience to further inquire and investigate quantum physics, sense of place, Hawaiian culture, and allow them to take a moment to enjoy the images, wisdoms, paint applications, and simplicity of an imagined landscape where I morph time and spatial relationships into a magical contemplation of self and culture.”