Jean Rees studied at Hastings School of Art where she took a course in Industrial Design. She specialised in Textile Design obtaining a National Diploma after which she embarked on a four year Open Scholarship to the Royal College of Art.

Following freelance textile designing whilst she brought up three children she later turned to painting. One of her main interests was in the pattern and colour of the landscape around her, its textured surfaces and atmosphere. She found

both Greece and the Penwith Peninsula in Cornwall very stimulating environments.

She was elected to the council of the RWA in 1988 and in 1989 she was elected Artists Chairman a position that she held for three years. She was a founder member of the Bridgewater Arts Centre of which she became Chairman and later President. She was also Chairman of 'Artists 303' and Vice- Chairman of the Chandos Society of Artists.

Jean Rees exhibited her work in numerous galleries such as The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, New Grafton Gallery, Medici Gallery, Bruton Street Gallery, Bristol Guild and the Business Design Centre in Islington. Her work has been purchased by Bath University, the RWA permanent collection, Somerset County Museums and Schools Art Loan Service, and is is many private collections in Europe and the USA.

Jean Rees had a major retrospective 'A Vision of Landscape and Light' at the RWA in June 2006, two years after her passing

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