Frenchy the Painter brings New England narrative naturalism to Belknap Mill

LACONIA — A new solo art exhibition at the Belknap Mill’s Riverside Gallery explores New England narrative naturalism through the paintings of an emerging artist.

The exhibit, with the work of C. Frenchy Villeneuve or “Frenchy the Painter,” is in the gallery through Wednesday, Sept. 30.

“People say, 'Oh, you're an artist.' I'm like, 'No, I just paint pictures.' And it stuck. And I guess now you could say I'm an artist,” Villeneuve said.

Villeneuve worked as a truck driver, then in the antique business throughout his life. Having no artistic background, lessons, or even a history of doodling or drawing, he decided to try painting, after a close friend died. He started painting at age 62, on Jan. 1, 2024, and has no intent to stop anytime soon.

“People say, ‘Well, why didn't you take a class?’ Class would have ruined me,” Villeneuve said. “I think my perspective comes from being a truck driver, and you're always observing. Even when you don't think you're observing, your eyes are always taking in stuff. And I think that's what has allowed me to put down stuff that I've seen.”

Villeneuve represents himself and sells pieces online, getting traction from his over 1,000 followers on Facebook. Since his painting journey began, he had his first ever exhibit at the Minot-Sleeper Library, in Bristol, in March 2024. He's also had multiple showings at the New London Hospital Microgallery, and has been in the Natural New England Exhibit for the Center of the Arts Lake Sunapee Region every summer.

Villeneuve, originally from Massachusetts, moved to North Conway, where he raised his children as a single father. After they were grown, he moved to Danbury, finding a great community in the small town. Villeneuve said the Danbury Country Store is the “hub of the community,” and was pictured in his second painting, depicting him and his friends singing the Danbury Country Store song around a table as they enjoy coffee.

Villeneuve was contacted by WMUR’s "New Hampshire Chronicle," after they ran a feature on the Danbury Country Store and saw his paintings. He got his own segment.

Villeneuve’s style of painting, which he refers to as New England narrative naturalism, tells two narratives at once. He captures a New England nature scene with animals or people, then ties in personal aspects, stories, and humor.

“It's always going to have a color. Everything's going to have a story to it. Or why bother?”

One painting on display in the Riverside Gallery is titled, “Jack and the Bean Can.”

The painting pictures Jack the Toad inside a New England staple, a can of baked beans. Villeneuve said the inspiration for the piece came from his visit to a state park. He actually saw a can of green beans, but thought baked beans would be more New Englandesque. A trash bin is also pictured very closely to the discarded can, as if someone was steps from the bin, but littered anyway.

Villeneuve shared the message behind this painting on Facebook in May.

“I love our state parks and we have to help Jack the Toad keep them clean.”

In Villeneuve’s paintings, he often paints himself into the scene wearing a blue ear flap cap or his winter Scottish cap. He also includes recurring characters. The “Mitchell Family,” consisting of a mother, father, and their two children, can be found in many of his paintings, including “Outing to Sunapee Harbor, NH,” on display at the Belknap Mill through Sept. 30.

Early in his painting journey, Villeneuve struggled to paint people and animals with two eyes, painting animals as black silhouettes with glowing, green eyes. Since, he has drastically improved, painting many detailed animals and human portraits. His improvement was simply a product of dedication to the craft.

“I always try to teach myself something new with each painting, or tackle something I haven't done yet.”

Even though Villeneuve depicts New England scenes, his paintings have caught the eye of many who live out of the region. A painting titled, “Interrupted Arrangement of Irises in Copper Pitcher” was sold for $1,000 to a man in Florida, who bought three of Villeneuve’s paintings thus far. He had another customer from New Jersey.

Villeneuve often gets inspiration from his surroundings. He takes photographs of scenes or objects he plans to paint. Then he sketches out his paintings, first on wrapping paper. Villeneuve said he goes to Walmart a week-and-a-half after Christmas, to buy rolls of holiday wrapping paper on sale.

“It makes for perfect squares to know where I need to put things. And then I take that, and then I put a carbon paper down on the canvas,” Villeneuve said. “And then I trace out my sketches onto the canvas. And that's what all those guys like Leonardo [da Vinci] and them used to do. But, I found this out as I go along. And I find these tricks, and then I start painting.”

In his earlier stages, Villeneuve’s smaller paintings would take him roughly four to five days. His paintings of community gatherings take weeks to complete.

Villeneuve sells his paintings online at frenchythepainter.com, and has done seven commissions, but does not stray from his “Frenchy” style. He was asked to paint a plain cottage in Vermont, but insisted on adding storytelling, painting the owner’s dog out front sniffing around the cottage, with a deer and her fawn on the other side.

Villeneuve donates 20% of his art sale proceeds to the Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation. Villeneuve is a veteran himself, and was touched by an encounter at his first art exhibit, in Bristol.

Paintings #7A and #7B, titled “War & Peace,” depict one scene in a war-torn environment and tense expressions, and the second scene brings peace with animals in a warm-feeling farm environment.

A young man told Villeneuve he liked his paintings, and sad he was a veteran himself, suffering from PTSD and brain damage. He said "War & Peace" really spoke to him, which moved Villeneuve, and led him to support veterans through his sales. Specifically, the Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation, which hosted a program in Grafton, for wounded veterans from across the country, paired with fellow veterans and go bear hunting or bass fishing, to feel a sense of normalcy.

Throughout his painting career, Villeneuve has followed the philosophy it’s never too late.

“There's nothing wrong with painting later in life. And actually, if you got nothing else to do, it's really good.”