“All my work begins in front of the subject, whether in the urban landscape or the countryside. I allow my eyes to relax and my thoughts to absorb what is around me, so that from the initial sketch, I make a response to my surroundings. Back in my studio, I interpret my sketches into paintings that once started, often dictate changes and further responses to colour and shapes that I recollect from my original interpretation.” 

 The density of colour, its transparency or opacity, along with the layers that build up the painting are all designed to add richness to forms within the flatness of the canvas or paper. As a result, the viewer is transfixed and drawn into the image, analysing and reacting to what is being presented. 

 “I believe the artist should provide a stimulating point of departure for thought and feeling by giving a strong image to which people can respond by emphasising, eliminating and clarifying to allow others a fresh viewpoint. My paintings are about reality without resorting to imitation.”  

Jean studied at Loughborough College of Art, Kingston University and Central St Martins’, London. She is a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, the Society of Women Artists, the Cambridge Drawing Society as well as the Chelsea Art Society.  Jean prefers to work in oils, pastel and water-based media. She has won many awards and exhibits regularly at the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition as well as with the Royal Society of Oil Painters, the Royal Watercolour Society Open Exhibition, the Pastel Society at the Mall Galleries, the Discerning Eye, and many well-recognised Galleries throughout the UK.