With stars twinkling like diamonds, clouds sweeping across the sky and a symphony of colorful flowers swaying at your feet, it’s hard to not notice the newly touched painting outside of First Magnitude Brewing Company.
And it’s all thanks to a local muralist and the help of the community.
“Painting has always felt like a second language,” said Jenna Horner, a multimedia artist and muralist. “The community aspect feels like the perfect opportunity to actually have collaboration with these murals, which is my favorite part of the job now.”
Horner is a Gainesville local and has worked on more than 30 murals across the city. You might have seen these large pieces of work at popular locations like 4th Ave Food Park, Cilantro Tacos in Tioga Town Center, Luke’s New York Bagel Shop and First Magnitude Brewing Company.
In 2014, Horner was graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelors in fine arts. Specializing in painting, she worked on her first mural on the corner of Depot Avenue and Main Street as a contributing artist with 352walls, a public art initiative and has not stopped since.
“It was after that moment in my life where you knew you just made one decision and then everything changes from there,” she said.
Since 2014, Horner has gone back to First Magnitude Brewing Company around five times to retouch the murals. She met Christine Denny, president and co-owner of the local brewing company, through mutual friends shortly after the company first opened.
“I love the way she depicts Florida and Gainesville-area natural places,” Denny said about Horner. “She has a real knack for understanding what works in those spaces. I love to see how her work has evolved.”
With the importance of community at the forefront of her artistic passion, she wanted to create a space where the younger generation of students have an outlet for their creative expression.
Minca Davis, an advertising student at UF, has helped Horner work on art projects for almost two years now and assisted her on the most recent project outside of the local brewing company.
“She helps inspire me and the city of Gainesville through her wonderful work,” she said.
Horner’s work is easily recognizable because of the vibrant and lively hues she chooses, which also reflects in her character and personality. The colors blend seamlessly, creating a visual feast for your eyes that will make you want to see what’s up next for her.
Kris Dalebout, a 21-year-old public health student at UF, said she liked the newly added stars on the piece.
“I love stars in general,” she said. My favorite constellation is Orion’s Belt, so it’s cool to see any stars included in the artwork.”
Brittany Scott, a 22-year-old barista, said she appreciates that there are spaces where artists are allowed to use local spaces around Gainesville.
“Her work is everywhere around this town,” she said. “I started noticing that the murals had the same aesthetic design, but still each one is very distinct from the other.”
There was no shortage of compliments as Horner was greeted by many customers admiring the mural.
“Public art has the ability to effect people in different spaces,” she said. “It can change and shift the energy of how we treat, talk and interact with each other.”
Horner continues work with younger students and founded the nonprofit organization, Mindful Messages. The main goal is to encourage, uplift and unify students with language in art by using murals as a tool.
Now, with more than six months of fundraising, Horner said that they’re ready to start going into the schools to have a collaborative experience on working on murals with the students in the fall.
“The north star of what I do is to unify people and my language in doing that is through art,” Horner said.