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John French

@artofjohnfrench

Oil painter who has dogs. I go outside and get inspired. ArtofJohnFrench.com

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20.10.2024
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Latest posts by John French @artofjohnfrench

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"Twisty Tree" 18" x 24" oil Rework of a plein air piece from last summer.

My plein air paintings are loose & sketchy. I'm not a quick enough painter to capture a scene with tight detail on site. Often, I'll rework a plein air piece in my studio, tightening it up into something closer to my style.

23.03.2025 23:51 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
11x14 oil painting of horses hailing a wagon of hay past a huge Lilac bush.

11x14 oil painting of horses hailing a wagon of hay past a huge Lilac bush.

"Hay There (Wet Haul on Market Street)"
11x14 oil on canvas
It takes a lot of work to maintain the tourist paradise of Mackinac Island, Michigan. I'm sort of intrigued by the juxtaposition of "regular" folks doing regular jobs in such a fantastic place.

16.03.2025 13:04 πŸ‘ 22 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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"Unnamed Falls" oil on 11x14 board.

This is my 1st painting on a cradle board. I sanded the board, taped the sides, & triple primed it. It's a smooth but slightly toothy surface. After painting, I removed the tape to show pretty wood grained sides!

05.03.2025 16:32 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Coffee in a blizzard

28.02.2025 23:31 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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I took these pictures last night at sunset. This is the beautifully illuminated tailings pile at the Tilden Iron Mine, from Republic, MI. This is the highest point in Michigan right now. At 2005 feet, it's slightly higher than Michigan's highest natural point, Mt Arvon- 1979 feet.

25.02.2025 13:34 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Spend Friday boycotting everything money related and climb into creative comfort while working on your submission for the BlueSkyArtShow then unleash the flood on SATURDAY, March 1st 🀩πŸ₯³ πŸ’™πŸ©΅πŸͺ»πŸŒΈπŸŒΌπŸŒΊπŸŒ»

24.02.2025 06:02 πŸ‘ 30 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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A Lighthouse under dramatic skies in four seasons. Each canvas is 8-inch square. They look good together!

24.02.2025 00:15 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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"Legendary Lilacs" 16x20 oil on canvas
This is inspired by a picture I took of my wife and her Irish Wolfhound strutting among the Lilac bushes on Mackinac Island, Michigan

#michiganart #mackinacisland #oilpainting #oiloncanvas

15.02.2025 23:50 πŸ‘ 24 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Moonlight through my leaded window.

12.02.2025 12:16 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Got a cool paint smudge today.😎

08.02.2025 19:01 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks, Alan!

06.02.2025 10:49 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Chilly but refreshing walk along Lake Superior in Marquette, MI.

04.02.2025 10:43 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you!

02.02.2025 17:08 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Red Pines on Rocks I &II, if you put them together like this, they almost look like the same hill.
16x20 oil on canvas.

Red Pines on Rocks I &II, if you put them together like this, they almost look like the same hill. 16x20 oil on canvas.

Red Pine on Rocks I
Oil painting

Red Pine on Rocks I Oil painting

Red Pine II
Oil on canvas

Red Pine II Oil on canvas

I've been working on these all year! πŸ˜‰ I painted these simultaneously so they'd have the same colors & the same mood.
I love the granite bluffs on the Lake Superior shoreline, especially ones topped with pillars of red pines. It's like being in a natural temple.
Red Pines on Rocks I & II
16"x20"ea

02.02.2025 01:28 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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I get less tolerant.

27.01.2025 23:50 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Got a phone call from a nearby town.
Me: Hello?
..........
Them: Hello?
M:HELLO!
T: can I speak to the business owner?
M: where are you calling from?
T: I am calling from business account depth.
M: What CITY are you calling from?
<click!>
That's what I thought, b!tch.

27.01.2025 18:46 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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What a perfectly typical "grandpa" thing to do!
😴

26.01.2025 23:47 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Queen Isabella in her tower.
We just call her Bella. She has thumbs!

26.01.2025 12:49 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It grows…
go.bsky.app/6HM3VgH

24.01.2025 14:17 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Warming up in Michigan; only 4-below this morning!

22.01.2025 12:16 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Ice encased breakwall on Lake Superior.

20.01.2025 00:10 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Oddly enough I found that Pinterest is a great way to keep track of artists' websites!

ALSO ARTISTS - please have a place to find you that is NOT a Meta app or Twitter.
Websites are evergreen places for you to have an online presence no matter what happens to social media!

19.01.2025 06:52 πŸ‘ 210 πŸ” 44 πŸ’¬ 9 πŸ“Œ 4
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The Marquette, MI area community is still mourning the passing of Beth Millner; jeweler, artist, business woman, mentor, arts advocate & good person.

If you're thinking of suicide, please reach out to someone. The world will miss you.

There's always hope if you're still breathing.

14.01.2025 16:11 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you!

08.01.2025 17:37 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Y'all, one of my artist friends just died by suicide. She was creative, successful, sharing, productive, and seemed happy. She'd just returned from a rejuvenating sabbatical with new ideas and goals. Now she's gone & nobody saw it coming.
If you feel down, depressed, please reach out to someone!

07.01.2025 18:47 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Oil painting of a winter scene from a hill, overlooking another hill. The snow is blowing in swirls.

Oil painting of a winter scene from a hill, overlooking another hill. The snow is blowing in swirls.

"Lake Effect Snow Swirling in the Hills"
11x14 oil on canvas
I climbed Marquette, MI's Sugarloaf Mtn in a lake effect snow squall to get this scene. I almost froze to death.πŸ˜‰

I hope it feels cold!

05.01.2025 22:27 πŸ‘ 30 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

🀣

05.01.2025 22:24 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Not even a nice try, Anton.

05.01.2025 12:54 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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This person is a scammer - just one minute after following back I get a message offering me money if I let them use my art. Message Ive recieved off other sites. Reported, I hope they see this and now blocked. Beware #art #artists #artscam #scammers #block

05.01.2025 10:11 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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I started these two paintings the other day with just three colors plus white.

I live Red Pines! When they grow on a rocky hillside or hilltop, they wrap their roots tightly and twist themselves into bends of determination.

I'm going to add color and finish these together.

#oilpainting #hiking

05.01.2025 12:50 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0