© Jen Painter

Jen Painter remembered

Jen Painter, artist, life long vegetarian and quiet worker for peace, women’s rights and the environment died on Friday 8 December at St Michael’s Hospice after a long and gutsy struggle with cancer. Her daugher, Laura Dunton Clarke, and her friend, Lorna Vahey, share some of their memories of Jen.

Born in London in 1938 and after Hornsey School of Art and an NDD in painting and drawing, (Fred Cuming was a young tutor), she married and had three children; Zillah, Joe and Laura. She worked as a designer, illustrator and decorator.

Whilst living in Norfolk and then Bedford, she worked in Community Arts and became involved in the women’s movement and a world of demonstrations, rallies, workshops and friendships. She was regularly involved with the demo’s at Greenham Common

She moved to Hastings in 1999, spending lovely times with Laura’s daughter Ella (one of six grandchildren ) and quickly became involved with local groups and happenings.

© Jen Painter

She volunteered at Seaview, joined Hastings Against War to campaign against the war in Iraq, became involved in the local women’s movement and later Women’s Voice and continued to paint and draw, exhibiting with Soco, Hastings Arts Forum and Rye Society of Artists.

She helped to organise and put in the exhibition ‘Penny and the Others’ at St Mary in the Castle, looking at violence to women through art and produced many of the placards in the march to publicise the numbers and names of murdered women. She designed the poster ‘50 Years Ago and what have we achieved?’ and joined and contributed to the procession and celebration of 100 years of women’s suffrage in 2018.

© Jen Painter

Jen worked on many community projects and banners for peace, Women’s rights, refugees, Palestine, Hiroshima and Nagasaki and climate change.

The last banner she helped to make for International Women’s Day was
‘I am Woman Hear Me Roar’. Jen never roared but made her mark in a quiet way, thoughtful, dependable, fair . She was never about her own difficulties, never at the front, always at the back doing the work.

She will be missed.

© Jen Painter

Also in: Hastings People