A native of Northern Michigan, Jean Larson was born in Ishpeming, a small mining town in the Upper Peninsula, in 1955. Eventually moving to Traverse City in her early years, she grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan. Well before her teens painting became an important element in her life, directly influenced by the natural environment surrounding her. After graduating from high school, studying fine art at college was an obvious choice and it was here that her commitment to a life as a painter was confirmed. Demand for Jean's work led to her setting up a small studio in Traverse City in which she painted and exhibited her work.
While Northern Michigan has always provided an important inspiration for her painting, it became clear to Jean that she needed to broaden her exposure to the art world. This led to her moving to Boston in 1984. The move eventually proved to be an enormous boost to her career.
Within the next five years Jean's work began to gain recognition both at home and abroad. Her paintings can now be found in a number of private collections in North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia, and she is represented by galleries across the United States. Furthermore, 1992 saw another turning point in Jean's life when she left the USA to travel in Europe, eventually settling in a small village in Southern France. She now divides her time between rural France, which provides much of the inspiration for her recent work, and her family home in Michigan.