Michael French is an internationally recognized painter. He is a master of technique and his paintings are prized by discerning collectors. Michael brings to his landscapes a unique and serenen vision. For over thirty years he has been exhibited in group and one-man exhibitions in New York, Paris and Toronto.

While predominately self taught, Michael benefited from the direction of his grandfather, John E. French, an artist tutelage of Thoreau MacDonald, an associate of the influential Canadian art circle, the Group of Seven.

Born in British Columbia, Canada in 1951, Michael realized his artistic vision early on and during philosophy and humanities studies at university he achieved the uncommon distinction in 1969 of having a successful first one-man exhibition at the age of eighteen.

Throughout the years, Michael has endeavoured not to follow trends in modern art but instead pursued his own path, patiently mastering those difficult and time consuming techniques practiced by master painters and all but lost today. In these landscapes painted in oil and acrylic on acrylic panels he manages to achieve a translucent sheen and luminosity, through painstaking application of many layers of thin paint or waxhed int eh manner of Rembrandt and the Flemish Masters.

Although Michael French is a master of realism, his paintings are never devoid of emotion. The reality he portrays is a reality carefully filtered and altered by his unique emotional point of view. His feeling dictates his treatment of pigment, palette, composition and light. The final painting thus invariably presents a scene more perfect than simple reality. Reflecting the profound influence of the great early 20th century European surrealists such as Magreitte, French explores the extremes of light and conflict of shadows in his recent paintings. The viewer is left to ponder the interplay of daylight and sun cast shadows in mesmerizing scenes of dusk and encroaching night.

Landscapes and portraits by Michael French figure prominently in the finest public and private collections around the world. Notable portrait commissions include the Honourable Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the elder George Bush in the Presidential Library.

In an age of uncertainty Michael French's vision, as expressed through his paintings, bring us images of beauty, tranquility and serenity.