Monthly News

Dear Friends and Collectors,Dear Friends and Collectors, One of my favorite movies growing up was The Wizard of Oz. I loved Judy Garland singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and I worked on it relentlessly with my voice teacher when I was very young. I also loved the rhythm of saying “Lions, and Tigers, and Bears…oh

Dear Friends and Collectors, The days are shorter, and the sun dims earlier, but I continue to look for the light in my painting. In late October, I was invited to speak to the Women Painters West group about how I came to be painting in remarkable gardens around the world. There is a good,

Dear Friends and Collectors, I am back in California after a rewarding and productive six-month period in France and Italy. My solo exhibitions at the English library of Menton and the vineyard L’Aumérade were great experiences and resulted in some sales, including a painting from my time at Bagatelle garden in Paris and another from

Dear Friends and Collectors, I am busy, busy, busy! here in Europe. My solo show of ‘Mediterranean Landscapes’ in Menton at the English Library closes June 29. My solo show at the Chateau L’Aumérade in Provence (Pierrefeu) is on display until July 30. There is an evening concert of ‘Musique Brésilienne’ at L’Aumérade on Saturday,

Dear Friends and Collectors, Spring is a joyous time in the South of France when the sun is warm on the earth and gardens are wild riots of color and new growth telling the story of time moving forward. The air is still milky and the weather keeps thinking we’re not yet done with winter

Dear Friends and Collectors, I love the holiday season: it’s a time to joyously gather with family and friends, with lots of opportunities to see art in fun places! The annual open house for Laguna Canyon Artists Studios is December 2-3 from 11 am – 4 pm. My studio (H4) will be featuring beautifully framed

Dear Friends and Collectors, I am back from northern California where I was privileged to have a short, but intense, garden residency. It felt so great to be back out painting in a public garden! I have had my eye on the Ruth Bancroft Garden for many years and it was wonderful to be there

Dear Friends, Fall is the moment when life resets and starts to accelerate. I’m excited to share just a little about what’s going on in my art world. I was recently admitted into an artist collective called The Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Ana, California. “OCCCA is a space that invites artists to think

Dear Friends, Back to my beloved France for spring and summer, I sensed an unexpected theme emerging around me: Searching for Monet, the great Impressionist painter and father of abstraction in art. I visited the remarkable exhibition in Paris of the collection of Léon Monet, Claude’s brother. The tourists were at other blockbuster shows in Paris, so

Dear Friends and Collectors Pastel is an often overlooked medium that I find intensely satisfying. My pastels are focused on simple bouquets, rendered in a contemporary way. I did a series of small 9×12” pieces, using a vase collection from my mother and grandmother, and the resulting pastels are fresh and immediate. I chose flowers

Dear Friends and Collectors, I’m so happy to be in the studio working every day! The California coast inspires me and I’m pleased to present my collection of Contemporary Seascapes. These will be featured at my studio holiday open house December 3-4 from 11-4. This annual holiday exhibition is a great opportunity to meet many

Dear Friends and Collectors, It’s good to be back in Laguna working in the studio, preparing for an important artist call with a series of contemporary bouquets in dry pastel. The theme is Nature Morte – nature will die if we don’t do something dramatic to combat climate change. As always, there’s a lot going on with

Dear Friends, Due to a family emergency, I’ve been largely silent with my news and on my social platforms. As I get back to my artistic activities and posting, I have several events and shows I’m excited to share with you. I’m very pleased to announce I was selected as part of an ambitious juried

Dear Friends, A belated Happy New Year! My early January trip to Zion National Park, the Mojave desert, Navajo reservation, northern Arizona, and Santa Cruz provided inspiration for new work I’m contemplating. In the coming weeks, I will complete two Malibu landscape commissions and continue painting plein air here in California. This year is my

Dear Friends and Collectors, Life is rich with activities this holiday season after so many months of restrictions and I have much to share! I’m in California for my annual six month stay, which gives me time to delve deeper into multiple opportunities to work and exhibit in California. Last month, I attended a four-day

Dear Friends and Collectors, I wrote to you a few weeks ago about the Huntington Beach Art Center exhibit and I want to encourage you to check it out. The Huntington Beach Art Center, Scapes and Scope: Visions of the Land, Sea and Urban Space is available through October 23, 2021. Check out the main link for the

Dear Friends and Collectors, I am back in California since late August and watch as life seems to be getting to a better place. The art world is waking up and alive. I regret leaving Paris before Christo’s posthumous covering of the Arc de Triomph. Jeanne-Claude, his artist wife and long time collaborator, is continuing

Dear Friends and Collectors Writing from Europe where pandemic orders are still in place, I am feeling very optimistic of a more united future post-covid. Six weeks in Venice were a time for deep exploration in the realm of dry pastel, a medium often misunderstood and relegated for the past 100 years to a minor

Dear Friends and Collectors, Springtime in Venice with no tourists and La Serenissima lives up to its nickname. And while restaurants and bars aren’t open yet, living as a (masked!) Venetian is truly special. For this 5-week residency, I am working only in pastel, painting the water and gardens of Venice, beginning at the Giardino

Dear Friends and Collectors, A new year begins with new projects and new hope for a better world, pandemic-free, where integrity and honor lives. My new year starts with a new website that highlights my artist residencies around the world, pastels, and recent water landscape paintings from Southern California. I invite you to spend some

The 500-year anniversary of the death of Raphael Sanzio (one of the few artists known only by one name and just 37 when he died), is honored by a major exhibition in Rome at the Scuderie del Quirinale. Raphael was a late-Renaissance artist famous for his Madonna images; his archaeological and architectural research is lesser

Dear Friends, As this strange year of 2020 progresses, it gives me time to explore new areas of study, reading, online viewing and other activities not normally available with an over-scheduled life. Taking time to learn new things has been a delight I’d love to share with you. Recent paintings for the Water Landscape in Orange

Dear Friends, We are experiencing something none of us have ever witnessed. Comparative situations range from wars, Chernobyl, to 9/11. Our enemy is global and invisible. Who knew a microscopic virus could bring the world to its knees? The frenetic lifestyle of ‘filling up our lives’ is over, giving time for people to express themselves

Dear Friends, Here in California, I am working on landscapes in a series called Water Landscape in Orange County. In these paintings, I have broadened my subject of nature. Rather than close-up painting, I am changing my perspective, moving farther away from my subject, now seeing things from a distance. This of course moves me to

SENDING MY BEST WISHES FOR A JOYFUL AND CREATIVE NEW YEAR Nixon Library at Christmas Gianne de Genevraye 46×35 in, Oil on linen Yorba Linda, California 2019

Dear friends, I am in Desenzano in northern Italy on the Lake Garda doing work for a proposed exhibition in the city of Antibes for 2019. I’ll be here for a month. The late season is calm with few tourists, warm in the day and chilly at night. I am in a country house and

Dear Friends, I think it is worthwhile to talk about one of the artists who has influenced many people in the western world, Leonardo da Vinci. Major museums are celebrating 500 years since his death. There is a notable exhibit in London: A Life in Drawing currently at The Queens Gallery, Buckingham Palace. I have been doing some copies

Dear Friends, I was privileged to able to see the Biennale of Venice this year. We all expect something from Venice: romance, Old Masters at the Academia, fog, crowds with selfie sticks, great food, cruise ships, no cars and lots of water. Once again the city never disappoints. I understood several themes in the contemporary

Dear Friends, I am excited to share with you all the images from my residency in Menton, France. This was a transformative experience and I’d like to share a text with you that’s longer than my usual Monthly News, but explanatory of this new direction in my work. I hope you enjoy it as much

Dear Friends, In these last days of March and my last days in the US, I’m sending my friends around the world spring greetings! I have completed five paintings for a submission project, to possibly have an exhibition at a major public venue. I previewed two images last month and I’m fascinated by the subject…Water

Dear Friends, I am here in Newport Beach, California painting and doing some pastel work in preparation for my solo exhibition at the Newport Beach Central Library in early Winter, 2019. The opening reception will be on Thursday evening, January 10th from 6 to 9 pm. I will be speaking on my experiences at the

Dear Friends, Thank you to all of the friends, collectors, art professionals and family members who came out to the Newport Beach Central Library on January 12th to see my exhibition of paintings done in the sister cities of Newport: Okazaki, Japan; Antibes, France; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; and of course Newport Beach.  Hiroko Ito,

Here is the invitation to the Newport Central Library Exhibition, California.

Hello to my friends around the world, December is here, a wonderful season for friends and family, which I am enjoying in my native California.  I am in full preparation for the exhibit at the Newport Beach Central Library, sponsored by the Newport Beach Sister Cities Association with the generous help of the Newport Beach

Gianne’s Monthly News –  November 2018 Dear Friends, Just before my departure from France to the U.S., my work was featured at the press conference announcing the Festival du Jardin de la Côte d’Azur. Marina Picasso, granddaughter of Pablo, is the primary patron of this festival and I’m pleased I will be participating as an

http://www.frederic-chopin.com (http://www.frederic-chopin.com/Dear Friends, I am winding down my residence here in Paris at the Parc du Bagatelle, finishing paintings 11 and 12 this week before I install the exposition in the Orangerie at Bagatelle in time for the International Rose Competition on June 21, followed by the Chopin Festival. There is still time to purchase

Gianne’s Monthly News –  May 2018 While enjoying two months in Paris, the city I lived in for 23 years, I have the privilege to walk in front of Notre Dame every day on my way to the metro and bus that takes me to the Parc du Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne. Being

Gianne’s Late April 2018/Early May Monthly News Dear Friends, I have been anxious to get back to my paint brushes, so I am thrilled I was able to obtain the authorizations to paint in the magnificent gardens in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris: The Gardens of Bagatelle. I will be on site painting the rose

Gianne’s Monthly News – March 2018 Dear Friends, March is a travel month for me this year. But I have two exciting things to announce:  Last year while I was painting on the island of Ischia at the La Mortella Garden, I was interviewed in French for the television program Les Jardins d’Ici et Ailleurs. 

Dear Friends, In January, I was in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. There, with my dear friend Onagh, we set up a pastel studio on the north side of the house, naturally shaded in an interior atrium, away from the intense Baja light. I did five pastel pieces, 76×56 cms, 30″x22″, in preparation for my show

Gianne’s December Monthly News Dear Friends, Several people commented on my last monthly news that they had heard of the well-known “art islands” in the south of Japan that I had the privilege of visiting during my residency last month in Japan. The Benesse Art Site Naoshima is the collective term for the art activities

Gianne’s Monthly News – November 2017 Dear Friends, I am in my last days of my brief, yet rich residency here in Okazaki, Japan in preparation for the solo exposition of the renowned public gardens of the Sister Cities of Newport Beach at the Central Library in 2019. I marvel at the intense fall colors,

Dear Friends, I am in my last week of my residency here in Antibes, France, painting in a wonderful studio space in the middle of the 11 hectare property on the Cap d’Antibes at the Villa Eilenroc (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Eilenroc), donated to the City of Antibes in 1982 by Hélène Beaumont. I have been particularly inspired for

Dear Friends, I am painting in Antibes, South of France for the months of September and October, to complete paintings that will be exhibited in the first quarter of 2019 at the Newport Beach, California Central Library.  The exposition is sponsored by Newport Sister Cities, and I will have paintings from public gardens in Antibes,

Dear Friends, The inauguration of my solo exposition in Italy in the city of Sermoneta was a very special event for me. I exhibited 16 paintings from my residency in the garden of Ninfa, a mysteriously beautiful garden outside of Rome I painted last Fall in 2016. The show is up for the month of

June has been a wonderful month! I was invited to paint here on the island of Tresco for three weeks in the world renowned Tresco Abbey Gardens. I arrived under wind and storm, and the weather evolved to clear clement skies as the weeks unfolded. I worked every day and this intensity turned out seven

Gianne’s Monthly News – May  2017 Gianne de Genevraye – Contemporary Nature Artist Dear Friends, I am finishing my spring residency here in the paradise of La Mortella Garden, already feeling nostalgic about leaving. I am grateful to the Director of the garden, Alessandra Vinciguerra for this invitation to paint here.  I could spend a

Gianne’s Monthly News – April  2017 Dear Friends, I am painting at La Mortella Garden on the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples. I’ve been here since March 15 to witness the beginning of spring. Every day awakenings in nature inspire new thoughts and potential images for paintings. As always, I am on

Dear Friends, I am here on the island of Ischia in southern Italy, once again painting the spectacular La Mortella Garden. I was invited to paint here in the Fall of 2015, and now am painting the spring. It is like a new garden for me, the contrast between the two seasons is strong, and

Dear Friends, February has been a very busy month for me here in California. My exposition on The Art of Conservation closes Friday the 24th. Along with the successful conference “The Perfect Garden in the Perfect Place,”  I gave a workshop in the Hortense Miller Garden to six participants that turned out some excellent work

This month while in California I am focussing on the Art of Conservation conference that will be held at the end of this week in Laguna Beach at the Susie Q Center, 380 3rd Street, Laguna Beach, CA 92651 Sustainability is the topic.  Even though California is, according to some people, is officially over the devastating

Dear Friends, I am in beautiful California having wrapped my residency in Italy. On my way, I stopped in Paris and was fortunate to see the Fondation Louis Vuitton temporary exhibition Icons of Modern Art. The Shchukin Collection. Housed in their futuristic Frank Gehry space, this little known collection –now dispersed in Russian museums such as the

Dear Friends, My residency in the Garden of Ninfa is finishing in a few days. I have painted consistently for two and a half months in the garden with a studio on site. The planned exhibition will be for the month of July, 2017 at the Castel Caetani in the village of Sermoneta where I have been

Dear Friends, I am well into my painting residency here in Italy in the magical garden of Ninfa, one hour southeast of Rome. This garden is known as “the most romantic garden in the world” per Charles Quest-Ritson who wrote a great book on the garden and the history of the powerful Caetani family who have owned

This month, I travelled down to Italy to Latina, 40kms from Rome, to begin my painting residency at the Ninfa Gardens where I’ll be until December.   To break up the long drive from the Côte d’Azur, my friend Nicole Durand suggested that we visit the TAROT GARDEN created by Niki de Saint Phalle between

Dear Friends, I had the opportunity to see Christo’s “Floating Piers” installation on the Lake Iseo in northern Italy early this month. Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude, who passed away recently, are major global installation artists of the 20th and 21st century and his projects attract millions of viewers.  I’ve followed his work and saw Pont Neuf

All goes very well here in California. Yesterday, I was teaching at the well-known Annenberg Foundation in the California desert, (see link below).  The Foundation’s gardens was in full bloom. This impressive site is also known as a ‘think tank for peace’.  President Obama was recently there with the Prime Minister of China.http://sunnylands.org/calendar/view/2016-03-19/891 I am

Here I am in Los Cabos, in the Baja California, for 3 week residency to paint in the garden of Wirikuta garden to complete the paintings for the Sister City exposition in Laguna Beach this coming May. This  picture is in the desert . These cactus are only in Baja, and are 300 to 500

This  past month I was in the UK, in Cornwall, painting at Laguna Beach sister city, St Ives. These paintings are in preparation for the solo expo in Laguna in May 2016 of paintings done in all of their Sister Cities. This art colony town on the furthest southwestern point of England inspired 4 paintings

Dear Friends, Today is my last day at the stunning La Mortella Garden in Ischia, Italy. The 12 completed painting show a new direction, especially on the subject of the ever present water in the garden. Other painting images from this residency are on my website. A special thank you to all of the friends

Dear Friends, Here in southern France, the last days of summer are devoted to preparations for my trip to the island of Ischia, off shore Naples.  I begin my residency at the garden La Mortella on September 1st, and will be there for 2 months. www.lamortella.org/en I have had several collectors ask to see paintings that

Dear Friends, La Mortella garden here on the volcanic island of Ischia, Italy is dense and profuse. It is tropical at the entry level, and as you ascend, becomes arid Mediterranean which is  unique.  There is the rare specimen of the Victoria Amazon Lily, shown here.  This garden’s water subjects have become my focus. Truly 

Dear Friends, Back in Mortola to finish the Menton residency paintings.  The 2 pieces on the side in the attached photo are in progress in my studio.  “Oleanders in Ceramic Vases” are set in the last of the four municipal gardens, the Fontana Rosa garden of Menton, the center piece is a commissioned piece of

Dear Friends I would like to thank from my heart everyone who came to the Reception and Open House at the Hortense Miller Gardens here in Laguna, and who participated in the workshop, the 12 artwalks on site, attended the Community Center Susie Q lecture, and listened to the KX93.5 radio interview. It was a

Dear Friends, Hello from sunny Laguna Beach, where California is in its fourth year of severe drought. The message in my presentations about planting a “Water Wise” garden has never been more pertinent. I’m giving art talks/walks every Friday morning at the Hortense Miller Garden, where I’m finishing the spring series of paintings. (Call the

Dear Friends, I’m finishing my third garden of the four municipal gardens in Menton, the Maria Serena garden. I’ll be California for two months beginning in April to finish my residence at Hortense Miller Garden in Laguna Beach, sister cities with Menton, France. At the HMG, every Friday in April and May, I will be

Dear Friends Nice article about my painting residence here in Menton.  I am trying to organize an international show between the two sister cities that I am currently in residency, Laguna Beach California and Menton, France. I’ll be starting work next week in the third of four municipal gardens here in Menton, the Maria Serena

Happy New Year to all, may it be filled with peace and joy, and bring creativity and harmony to the lives of others. I am back painting in France after the holidays in California.  I am in Menton, at the Serre de la Madone garden set up in the hot house onsite.  2 of the

Dear Friends I moved over to the Palais Carnolès in Menton for the end of November and beginning of December, but the strong rains on the Côte d’Azur made progress slow. After my return from California, I’ll be back in the the Serre de la Madone garden in Menton to continue my residency in the

Buongiorno d’Italia… Where I am living while painting in Menton, France, just over the border.  As Artist in Residence for Menton 2014/15, my project is to paint in the four municipal gardens in this graceful French Riviera city. I’ve begun at the Serre de la Madone garden and in November, I will be painting in

Dear Friends, This Fall, I begin a new painting residency for the city of Menton, France.  I will be painting in the four municipal gardens there and will begin early October with the Serre de la Madone garden, painting in the greenhouse.  The public is invited daily to see the progression of the 8 paintings

My exhibition in Italy at the Hanbury Botanic Gardens finished well, I will miss my new friends there and that splendid garden, certainly one of the most beautiful gardens I’ve ever seen. I have been invited back to paint another season, maybe in winter 2016? I’ve just finished a commissioned piece of four panels in

My opening inauguration last Friday at the Hanbury Botanic Gardens in Italy was a perfect Italian Riviera evening.  The exposition in the palazzo in three rooms full of light that bring the paintings to a complete “vibration of life”. I feel that this is my best work ever.  I will be posting all of the

Invitation to my show that opens next month on June 6th at the Hanbury Botanic Gardens in Italy. The movie Grace of Monaco was partially filmed in the garden as well as the exterior of the Italian palazzo. The scenes where she is on the terrace learning french were filmed at the palazzo where my

Dear Friends, Work goes well in the Hanbury Botanical Gardens, and the opening date for the exhibition in the Palazzo on the grounds is set for June 6th.  The show will be up for a month. There are 7 paintings in progress in the studio. Lizanne Witte has an interesting and pertinent blog on gardens/environmental

I arrived in Italy last Thursday, and have already begun painting at the Thomas Hanbury Gardens.  I’m set up in the Casa di Sol in the middle of the grounds, in a room full of light, set in the middle of the “perfume garden”.  The entire property is beginning to bloom, and the citrus, cypress,

working in an ideal climate, in a wild unstructured garden created by a woman, Hortense Miller, over 50 year period, set in the hills above the Pacific Ocean in Laguna Beach.  I’m finishing the first part (the winter series of 8 paintings) of this unique residency, where I am completely alone on the property every

I will be interviewed by Tyler Russell on Laguna Beach public radio on Tuesday, February 14 at 8:00am California time (17h heure français) about my current painting residency at the Hortense Miller Garden. You can listen live on line at KX93.5   http://kx935.com/home

I will be in residence at the Hortense Miller Garden here in Laguna Beach http://www.hortensemillergarden.org and will begin painting next week. This residency will be divided into two parts, the first 2 months in Jan and Feb ’14, and finish with the exposition in spring of ’15, so I will be painting in both winter and

In Paris for culture and to see friends, I’m looking forward to the next three months in California where I will be getting back to painting and working on several commissions Happy Thanksgiving!

In Venise where I visited the Biennele. Some non-contemporary work curated with spirituality as the subject, but the “new” is about the fragmentation/acceleration of society and multi-layering with movement. There are works that touch other senses than just the visual. The Biennele art is a total sensory experience with sound, film, 2 and 3 dimensional

Summer is over, along with my small exposition that was at the beautiful Garcinière winery in St. Tropez. La Garcinière was also the name of my peniche, which is now a closed chapter. Onward! Bon automne à tous.

Dear Friends, Hello from summer in Paris! Another image of the last paintings done in California, on site at the Descanso Gardens Acantha at Descanso  36 x 24in. oil tempera on canvas, 2013 After my last residency experience in California which was so positive, I’ve decided to concentrate on my work there, and my leisure

Dear Friends I have returned to France, to the southern mediterranéan coastline for a much needed break from painting, exhibition and PR. My show was successful in all ways. Thank you to all that were able to come to see the show. This is the last piece that I did before leaving. It is an

Dear Friends! My exposition opened on May 10th to a reception at the Casa Romantica Cultural Center in San Clemente.  125 people attended a perfect California evening at sunset.  On May 16th, I lectured on my process, inspiration and the environmental aspects of my paintings.  I’ve sold the majority of the 14 paintings.  Here is

Dear Friends, Enclosed, please find the invitation for my exposition at the San Clemente Cultural Center, the Casa Romantica.  Some of the other paintings can be found on my website. The paintings are dramatic, infused with the marine layer of fog over the Pacific Ocean.   I wish my French friends could be there…

Work goes well at the Casa.  I am on the bluff overlooking the sea, and exposed to the sun, wind and sea salt….especially the very bright light. Fog in the mornings gives some respite.  I’m working on my conference that I will give on May 16th at the Casa, describing my work process of inspiring

Dear Friends, I am in California, and have begun my three month residency at the San Clemente Cultural Center “Casa Romantica”. www.casaromantica.org (the video shows the gallery ) The setting is spectacular on the coast of Southern California. The garden is small, but there is lots to paint, I will be posting the paintings on my site

Chers Amis, After one month of well deserved pause from painting, I am preparing for my departure for California, where I will be painting in the San Clemente Cultural Center, the ‘Casa Romantica’ in a residency of 3 months, followed by a solo exposition on the grounds from May 10 to June 10. My exposition

Dear friends, Invitation for my show next week of the four seasons of the vine which represent the four cycles of life, one year later. Pour mon exposition au Rayol qui durera jusqu’au 25 mars, j’étais comblée. Joyeuses fêtes de fin d’année. Gianne

Friends, I am sending you today the invitation and press release for my exhibition at the Domaine du Rayol.  The show will remain in place until March 25th, and the opening is on December 9th, preceded by a conference that I will be giving on my work process. The paintings in the show are posted

Dear Friends, The first 10 paintings done at the Domaine du Rayol. will be hung in the gallery on October 25th. Work continues, and the more I am seeing, the more there is to see and to paint.

I have begun work at the Domaine du Rayol, a challenge in the Fall, to find the subtle colors in the sublime light at dawn or at the very end of the day, once the garden is closed to the public. Gianne this painting sold on the opening night