Jean grew up on a vegetable and grain farm in upstate New York. This country life gave her a lasting appreciation for outdoor labor and rural settings – frequent subjects of her paintings. In 1995 Jean took up painting and studying art full time. At present, she works mainly in pastels where her realistic style is enhanced by color.

Jane Flanders currently paints abstractions of fossil sketches she has made from visits to the KU Natural History museum. She thinks about the survival, extinction, and remaining evidence of ancient life as the inspiration for this painting series.