​Jean Lawrence was born in London, UK and studied at Durham and Oxford universities, training to become a teacher, initially of geography and later, after retraining, English as a Foreign Language. She spent most of her working life in Hong Kong, moving to the USA when Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997.
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On retirement from teaching, Jean became a full time artist for a few years, taking part in art fairs in Oregon, California, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Utah, in addition to being represented in galleries in those states. Now she limits sales to galleries in Oregon and Montana and local art fairs such as Corvallis and Salem.

Silk and color! Such a combination provides both visual and tactile satisfaction. As a painted on silk, I enjoy working with the vibrant colors of French dyes to create beautiful flowing designs. My love of flowers and nature becomes apparent in the designs. Whimsical cats, based on my own Siamese, are also often featured. Each painting design is drawn freehand, then painted using a watercolor technique.

​Jean had studied Chinese ink painting in Hong Kong but it was while working in Dubai, UAE, that she first tried painting on silk. She was running a teacher training course and one of the trainees introduced her to the medium. Returning to Los Angeles, she borrowed books from the library, started experimenting and developed her own style of painting. At first she focused on painting scarves but later either framed her work or made it into wall hangings.