early life and inspiration clementine hunter, a self-taught black folk artist, was born in late december 1886 or early january 1887 in the cane river region of louisiana. her life on melrose plantation would later become the inspiration for her artwork. born into a creole family at hidden hill plantation, near cloutierville, in natchitoches parish, louisiana. she began working as a farm laborer at a young age and never learned to read or write. artistic journey in her fifties, hunter started painting using brushes and paints left by an artist who visited melrose plantation. this marked th…