Gossip Girl stars (and real life-couple) Blake Lively and Penn Badgley hold hands as they take a stroll down Fifth Avennue in New York City on Thursday (August 27).

On Friday’s USTA & Heineken kick-off for the 2009 US Open, Penn told JustJared.com what he got for Blake for her birthday (she turned 22 last Tuesday): “I got her a painting from a Russian street artist.”

FYI: Blake is really into art and paintings. She told JustJared.com that an elephant drew a painting for her while she was in Thailand earlier this year. Penn added to the story on Friday. He said, “Surprisingly, the most spiritual thing [Blake and I did in Thailand] was riding the elephants. They are incredible creatures and I honestly wasn’t expecting it. They’re unbelievably smart and communicative. I literally had a physical feeling in my chest. It was religious, nearly – I’m not religious but riding them was unbelievable.”

Penn added, “The elephants paint, man! It’s really mind-blowing. We paid $300 for six hours with our own elephant each. We rode them into the river, we bathed them, got back on them, rode them into the jungle and they painted! Blake’s painting is beautiful. Mine didn’t come out so well.” Wah wah…

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