Jean is a watercolourist who uses the medium in an unusually bold and vibrant way, which comes from a love of strong colours and a passionate desire to make a positive statement in her paintings.

Jean was born in Wallasey and studied at Liverpool College of Art in the early 1970s before moving to Scarborough. There she taught and ran a small hotel - The Flower in Hand - overlooking the harbour while bringing up her two daughters. She became renowned as a vegetarian chef (working closely with Sarah Brown) and played accordion with local blues bands.

She moved to Glossop to concentrate full-time on her painting, attracted by the dramatic landscape of the High Peak, the earthy vitality found in the mill town and by its accessibility to numerous cities.

Jean's most recent work – intricate, detailed pencil drawings which capture the last surviving relics of the traditional industrial heartland of east Manchester before they are swallowed by redevelopment - can be seen here.

Since her move to Glossop Jean has exhibited her work widely across the north of England, Ireland, Germany and America.