As a lifelong naturalist, I use my creative process to explore the wide geography of forests, waters, canyons and deserts, capturing them in their many moods, seasons and transitions. My work emphasizes natural light as it transforms color, shape, texture and contrast of these unique habitats and the wildlife that call them home. 

On foot, on horseback and in boats, I have intimately explored the wild areas of New England, the boreal forests and lakes of Northern Minnesota, the coastal areas and high desert of Oregon, the ocean surrounding Washington State’s San Juan Islands, the Sonoran Desert and Saguaro National Forest of southeast Arizona, the foothills and prairies of the Colorado front range and most recently the magnificent mountains, rivers and lakes of Colorado’s western slope. 

This lifelong study has given me a deep knowledge of the natural world that helps me capture, not just the visual reality of a scene but its mood and sensory essence as well: the motion of a stream, the stillness of lily pads in a beaver pond, the light at dusk or dawn, the nuances of the subtle transitions of each season.

I’ve studied with contemporary artists such as Matt Smith, Robert Moore, Sandra Strohschein, Kathleen Dunphy, Mitch Baird, Doug Fryer. And while I’ve learned valuable techniques from each and every one of them, I find that my own paint application follows my creative spirit. I don’t adhere to a named style.

It is my hope that viewers and collectors of my artwork will gain an intimate feeling of the amazing natural world around us.

~ Jean lives in Ridgway, Colorado with her husband and three dogs.