about the painter
The
diverse life experiences in Jeannette St. Germain's paintings are reflected
in the diversity of her painting styles and mediums.
Born in Indonesia, St. Germain came as a five year-old
with her parents and two brothers to the Netherlands, with many others
who were Dutch citizens.
She came from a musical family, but in fifth grade
her life changed forever when a friend in class taught her to draw faces.
In her teens she won awards for five consecutive years in local art competitions.
She remembers vividly that her teachers told her to never, never copy.
She thinks it is fortunate that her instructors told her that she did
not have to draw or paint things in a certain way. These encouragements
spurned her on to study art education.
Holland has a rich history of art, and its culture values individuality highly. This gave her the freedom to follow her own instincts. Her intuition about art developed naturally and rapidly by going to museums, concerts, and ballet events whenever she could. Her favorite Dutch painters are Rembrandt, van Gogh, and Mondriaan for their use in form and color.
In 1985 she came with her family to the U.S. for her to study psychology. At the end of her training she came back to art after a hiatus of 20 year and tried her hand at watercolors. She was mesmerized by the different styles in watercolor she saw in California. In this, she was going against the grain of her European art education, who largely views "aquarelles" (watercolors) as second rate, and more as a preliminary sketch to the "real" art of oil painting. Her first tryouts in this medium in Yosemite National Park. She loved the variety of approaches in watercolor, and the experience of the different artists. They made watercolors look like fun.
At the graduation party of her doctorate in psychology,
she exhibited 20 of her watercolors, which were warmly received.
While developing professionally as a therapist, she
at the same time developed her life in art, going to watercolor workshops,
involvement in a regional art association, entering into juried exhibitions,
and later teaching workshops on prophetic art.
She makes use of art in her therapy whenever possible.
Her opinion is that "art gives easy access to the soul," and
finds it for that reason a very rewarding and beneficial tool in psychotherapy.
Some of her child clients made some very artistic narrative stories by
putting objects in the sand.
Her husband and children have been very supportive of her journey in art. They are also some of her best critics. She views that if she cannot make concepts in her images clear to them, others who do not know her will certainly not understand them.
Recently the artist lives with her husband in Southern California. She has three children and several grand children. She and her husband both travel to Europe as often as possible, to mentor and equip European pastors and leaders.
artist name
The artist's full signature is "de Charon de Saint Germain,"
but often signs with the latter part of the last name of the artist's
mother's family. Her mother was a descendant from a family of French nobility,
who were Huguenots (Protestants) and fled the country, eventually ending
up in Indonesia where her mother was born. Several artists, especially
musicians, belonged to her family.
Contact
For more information about paintings recently painted please contact the artist at dutchform@yahoo.com.
