ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I distill my fifty-year career as a contemporary painter to capture the elusive, ephemeral moment. My playful and exuberant style is apparent in the construct of the compositions. I prepare my palette and approach my surface with creative intention. Fragile blooms of translucent color and sparkling opaque gems contrast with deep saturated color. Layered diverse viscosities disrupt traditional perspective.
BIOGRAPHY
Color is my muse. A philosopher, poet, storyteller, and illustrator, I was born to be a painter. Poised to capture elusive, ephemeral moments, I took myself to Rhode Island School of Design in 1982. I majored in painting and minored in illustration and textile design.
In my professional life, I developed an educational philosophy and curriculum: The Art of Play. My philosophy is process-based. In 2014, I received my MFA from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University.
My oil compositions are playful orchestrations of pattern, mark and color. This study of light and movement realizes the richness of our natural world. In my Vermont studio-gallery, Janna’s Gate, I paint and welcome visitors.
Featured in the Vermont Standard
‘There is no creativity without play’ by Emma Stanton
Olivia Janna Genereaux has been an artist since the age of eight, recalling the final moments of a third-grade art class in which she felt inspired to paint her dog. “I whipped up this cute drawing of my dog in brown and blue tempera paint. Suddenly there he was, and I thought, ‘This is amazing — to have an idea and do it.’ I was hooked. I always wanted to be a painter after that,” Genereaux told the Standard this week…