Clementine moved to Melrose Plantation at the age of 14 or 15 and remained there the rest of her life. It's assumed that Clementine started painting in 1940. Francois Mignon, a writer and guest of the plantation saw her work and became her first patron. He and James Register became supportive and supplied Hunter with art supplies and arranged for a show in 1946 at Millpaugh Drug Store in Natchitoches, LA. Hunter was essentially a memory painter, creating the life at the plantation, work, play and church. She took part in all the plantation duties: picking cotton, boiling water for cleaning clothes and making dinner. She was a prolific artist. Her first works were on anything she could find that held paint. After Mignon discovered her, her works were mainly on canvas. She was buried close to her friend Francois Mignon upon her death, a man who believed in her gift.
