Jean Koenig was born and raised in the Bluff Country of the Minnesota River Valley, in the island city of Winona, Minnesota. Family fishing, hiking, bird watching, picnics, and camping at Whitewater State Park, as well as summer camping trips to Oregon via Yellowstone and other national parks instilled in her a deep and abiding love and respect for the river, woods, and wildlife.

Jean started drawing at a very early age. In junior and senior high school, she combined her two passions, taking every art class possible and excelling in every one. After obtaining her medical secretary credentials and securing employment at Mayo Clinic, she married a Navy man and moved to California. In 1982, they returned to Minnesota to raise their two baby girls, and Jean to her employment at Mayo Clinic. Following the reassessment and realignment that comes with children becoming evermore self-sufficient, Jean came back to nature and art in 1991.

Jean and her husband Mark live in a log house in Minnesota. She enjoys trail riding and camping with their four horses. Mark is renovating a log building on the property into a studio for Jean, and she is currently accepting commissions for equine and animal portraits.