In the 1990’s Jeannette began to practice plein air painting.
The landscape of the American Southwest, the reds and ochres of the red rocks, the intense blue of the sky directed her interest in color and landscape painting. Trips to Sedona, Tucson, AZ, Zion National Park, Utah, Albuquerque, NM, Florence (Italy) converged to inspire the love of colour in natural light within a landscape. “I am indebted to Michael Chesley Johnson and his Wife Trina for providing delightful Artist Retreats, opening up new vistas for color and design.”
Throughout her Teaching Career, Jeannette contributed banners to local churches. The most recent, an Out door Banner, “God is Love”, in 2018, at the Church of St. Mary Magdalen on Manning St., Toronto. She also exhibited at local church related Art Shows, CSMM & Islington United Church, where she sold her art.
In 2021, the Spring Course of Nick Wilton’s Creative Visionary Program strengthened Jeannette’s interest in abstract painting, a direction she hopes to explore in her future art. Jeannette regularly posts her works and processes on Instagram: @jeannettekogeler.
“As a child I had spend hours by the beaches in the Netherlands on our vacations, collecting shells, stones, driftwood. In my Neighborhood of The Hague, I found wooded parks where I collected mosses, pinecones, nuts, interesting sticks, flowers to make a shoebox “garden”. Early on, I chose Nature as a steady friend, a companion, through life’s adventures. I loved to swim, walk along the shore with our extended family. In my art I often return to themes of water and the memories of family by the beach. As I grew with my art, I became more aware of what I was drawn to for inspiration. I started to seek out landscapes that connected with my emotions, times of day and scenes that lit me up with awe and wonder. Blue skies against red and ochre rocks, vistas that were bathed in sunlight, the desert feeling of quiet space, a stillness that became meditative.
The brilliant jewel like colors in Nature were also found in the medieval icons which I loved to imitate at The Cleveland Museum of Art, the Chiesas or the Cathedrals in Europe. I sketched Padernal Mountain at Sunrise! -like the colors of a stained glass window. My art became spiritually connected to me.”
This year, Jeannette has been accepted at Arte Studio Ginestrelle for a 2 week Artist Residency, May 2025 in Assisi, Italy.
Currently, Jeannette will be Exhibiting in the Boothbay Region Art Foundation, 1 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor, Maine, USA, June 2024 Members Show.
Jeannette has also exhibited at the Propeller Gallery, Queen St. West Art District, 30 Abell St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. December 7-14, 2022, Art Off The Wall show.
She was Awarded the Denis Diderot Grant on November 12, 2022, and accepted for a 2 week Residency at Chateau Orquevaux, Champagne-Ardenne, France for January, 2023