*Painting on the shores of Lake Geneva (Lac Lemond)*

For the years 2019-2023, my parents lived in Geneva, Switzerland. My husband, Wes, and I took advantage of their hospitality at least once per year while they lived there, and along the way I collected many paintings. A couple times I participated in the Strada Easel challenge while there, and at least once I participated in the Pleinairpril challenge. If you’re unfamiliar, both of these are painting challenges that involve creating something everyday. The result is that my trips to Europe created pretty big piles of finished and unfinished paintings of the landscapes that we passed through. I’ve long considered what the best thing to do with those paintings would be, a lot of them I no longer have in my possession, thanks to some wonderful collectors, but I’d love to have the ones I still have displayed and collected in one location where you can see them in person. But since that has not occurred yet, I’ve decided to collect them all here for you to enjoy digitally and at your leisure.

So in chronological order, I give you my Swiss gallery from the first trip of this kind in 2022. Up to this point, I hadn’t done much painting on our trips. This trip to Switzerland, Italy, Israel, and Jordan was the first of its kind where I actively planned on painting everyday while traveling. This section is dedicated to our time spent in Switzerland. For the parts of this trip in Israel/Jordan and Italy, click here or here, respectively.

*Jet D’Eau, Geneva, 2022*

painted in gouache in my sketchbook, not for sale

After a trip to Israel and Italy, Wes and I settled in to explore more of the sights around Geneva. This was in April of 2022 and so I was participating in the Pleinairpril challenge, a challenge to plein air paint every day in the month of April. My first stop was a park near my parents’ home in Grand-Saconnex, literally called the Parc du Chateau because there was a little castle at the heart of it (to see full an finished images of the following paintings, scroll to the bottom image gallery).

*Parc du Chateau in Geneva, 2022*

oil on board, NFS

We then were able to visit an annual tulip festival in the town of Morges on the shores of Lake Geneva. I loved the neat rows of flowers and the stark marble monument against the backdrop of trees and lake and blue mountains.

*Tulip festival in Morges, 2022*

oil on board, $350

Our next adventure was to a castle we had visited before, Chateau Chillon, also on the shores of Lake Geneva. I opted to stay out and paint the exterior while my family explored the castle interior. I love the distant Alps in the background. After the castle we visited the village of Lausanne where the Olympic sports headquarters are. I was inspired by the grounds of the Olympic museum and its many wild tulips and other wildflowers.

*Chateau Chillon, Veytaux 2022*

oil on board, SOLD

*Lausanne Wildflowers*

gouache on paper, SOLD

The next day was spent in the Gruyeres valley, exploring the village and getting a delicious lunch. I was able to start a couple paintings while on this excursion, of the village of Gruyeres and the surrounding landscape.

*Gruyeres Valley, 2022*

oil on canvas, NFS

*City of Gruyeres 2022*

oil on board, SOLD

*Gruyeres Gatehouse 2022*

gouache on paper, SOLD

*Gruyeres Valley*

gouache on paper, SOLD

I went with my mom the next day to explore some of the smaller villages in the area. I was lucky and the Rapeseed growing season was in full swing, so there were many bright yellow fields in full bloom. I opted for a wide view of the Alps and farmfields.

*Rapeseed Fields and distant Alps, 2022*

oil on board, $300

Wes and I then took a trip on our own to Zermatt, famous for being at the foot of the Matterhorn and for its ski resorts. I had a commission to paint the Matterhorn while I was in Switzerland and we were able to catch a view of it for a couple hours after we got there before the clouds rolled in. I managed a few other paintings of other various views but the famous mountain itself never came back fully into view while we were there. Though we still had a lovely time exploring the Alpine ski town.

*The Matterhorn, Zermatt, 2022*

oil on board, SOLD

*Matterhorn Veiled, 2022*

oil on board, NFS

*Zermatt Clock Tower, 2022*

oil on board, NFS

*Matterhorn Veiled*

gouache on paper, $70

*Zermatt Snow Fields, 2022*

oil on board, $300

During our drive back to Geneva from Zermatt, we stopped in the small town of Sion, where two ancient castles looked down on the valley. I knew I needed to try and paint them! I loved the view.

*Sion Castles, 2022*

oil on board, $350

The next couple days were spent exploring more of Geneva, especially the many gardens that were in full bloom at the time. Poppies and rhododendrons and the Wisteria especially were everywhere.

*Geneva Poppies*

gouache on paper, SOLD

*Geneva Wisteria, 2022*

oil on board, SOLD

One of our last excursions was to the area around Grindelwald. We first went to Lauterbrunnen to catch the sun as it hit the famous Staubbach waterfall, then into the Grindelwald valley. It was absolutely idyllic and a lovely time was spent exploring the valley and surrounding mountains.

*Staubbach Falls, Lauterbrunnen 2022*

oil on board, $350

*Grindelwald Valley, 2022*

oil on canvas board

*Alps Over Grindelwald, 2022*

oil on board, $300

Our final day was spent relaxing and wandering the city of Geneva. The city is right on the shores of Lac Leman or Lake Geneva and is home to many beautiful water birds and surrounded by the French Alps. Their famous landmark is the Jet d’Eau, a fountain of water in the lake that shoots water high up in the air. These last paintings were my homage to that beautiful city.

Amber’s Travels: Switzerland, Part 1

Amber’s Travels: Israel & Jordan