Artist Statement
Painting and sketching have been my passion and refuge for most of my life. There is the desire to give my interpretation on canvas or on paper of life’s beauty. I feel true pleasure painting trees, fields and countryside vistas. And more and more, I feel deep emotion showing people facing life’s adversities and fighting to win. My love of the arts was awakened early in life. As a child, my family’s home was filled with art and music, and I studied violin and the arts in private and group classes. During my professional career as a journalist and corporate marketing executive on the East and West coasts and in Europe, I always found time to study painting in evening classes and summer workshops, and I’ve been sketching and painting landscapes on the coast in Normandy, France, for years. I’ve also had a passion for writing fiction and I self-published my novel The Picasso Paradigm. Now, with my professional career as a painter, I’ve gained true pleasure – and shared it with viewers – with my landscapes, city scenes, narrative painting, portraits representing people and their emotions, and my rap videos using my paintings.
Artist Resume
Training
1952-1955 – Summer art classes for youth, Mills College, Oakland, CA. Hand puppet Doctor Ignacio was selected for public exhibit.
1961 – Drawing and sculpture classes, summer session, University of California, Berkeley, CA. Final sculpture was judged one of the three best of class.
1962 – Drawing classes, as elective while earning BA in English, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
1976-1979 – Workshop in oil painting with Jean-Marie Creuseau (formerly instructor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris), at the Conservatoire des Arts Plastiques, Fresnes, France
1981-1983 – Classes in drawing, and oil and water-color painting, at the Art Students’ League, New York, NY
1995 – Summer workshop in water-color painting, with Jeannick LeVoyer, at Les Arts en Granite Rose, Tregastel, Brittany, France
1996-1997 – Summer workshops, water-color painting, with Dominique Sevestre, at La Voilerie, Saint Aubin-sur-Mer, Normandy, France
2001-2007 – Oil-painting classes with Frances Galante and Don Kaiser and figure-drawing classes with James DuPree, at the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA
Awards
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2004 and 2006 – Honorable Mention, Annual Adult Student Exhibition, Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA, for both years
2006 and 2007 – Fred and Naomi Hazell Award, Annual Adult Student Exhibition, Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA, for both years
2016 - Honored by the city of Luc-sur-Mer, France, by induction into the Confrerie des Chevaliers de la Baleine, for support of the city’s cultural life, in particular the city’s annual art competition, “Luc en peinture”
Exhibitions
2003, 2004, 2005, 2010 – Normandy landscapes, Show of Hands Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2004 – “Going Home,” 64th Annual Juried Exhibition, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
2004-2014 – Luc en Peinture, Artists Exhibit, Luc-sur-Mer, France.
2006 – “Chapel at Bernieres,” France, Spirit of the World, Qbix Art Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2007 – “Chocolate,” Food for Thought, Cheltenham Art Center, Philadelphia, PA
2008 – Normandy landscapes, Two Commerce Square, sponsored by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Thomas Properties Group, Philadelphia, PA
2008 – Normandy landscapes, ArtWorks, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
2009-2010 – Normandy landscapes, Alliance Francaise de Philadelphie, Philadelphia, PA
2011 – “Crown Heights, Brooklyn,” Society Hill Synagogue, Philadelphia, PA
2009-2013 – Philadelphia Open Studio Tours, Studio # 407, 915 Spring Garden St., Philadelphia, PA
2012 – “The View from 915,” Center for Architecture Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2013 – People and Places, Street Life in Philadelphia and Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Kaiserman Jewish Community Center, Wynnewood, PA
2013 – Philadelphia People and Places, Bluestone Fine Art Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2014 – Philadelphia Sketch Club, 151st Exhibition of Small Paintings, Philadelphia, PA
2014 – Philadelphia Sketch Club, Large Format Art, Philadelphia, PA
2015 – Old City Jewish Art Center, solo exhibition Brooklyn & Philadelphia, PA
2016 – Philadelphia Sketch Club, Small Oil Paintings and Members’ Exhibit, Philadelphia, PA
2017 – North City Congress, Senior Center, Maison 208, Philadelphia, organized and participated in fund-raising gala, for the Philadelphia Sketch Club
Permanent – YouTube.com, “Head Held High,” “Six Foot Tall” and “A Painter’s Prayer” rap videos with lyrics, paintings and music
Permanent – Painter’s Blog, William Kosman, Artiste Peintre
Permanent – Painter’s Website, William Kosman
Commissions
2000 – Promotional paintings for 360 Marketing, Inc., Ardmore, PA, and novel The Picasso Paradigm, by William Kosman, Author House
2004 – Portrait of Verve Records jazz singer-songwriter Lizz Wright, commissioned by Passionate Marketing, New York, NY
2006-2012 – Normandy landscapes and narrative paintings, donations, Annual Wine Tasting and Silent Auction, French International School of Philadelphia, Bala Cynwyd, PA
2008 – “Who’s That Coming?,” Andrew Vogelson and his two dogs, Philadelphia, PA
2011 – “Lounge Singer,” Michael F. Doan, Arlington, VA
2012 – “A Man and His Dog,” Michael Poxon with Trevor, Philadelphia, PA
2012 – “Bastille Night in Paris,” Bastille Day Celebration, Alliance Francaise de Philadelphie, Philadelphia, PA
Publications
2005 – “Bernieres Chapel,” show of Hands Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, artmatters, Fort Washington, PA
2008 – POST Philadelphia Open Studio Tours, “Bill Kosman works on one of his paintings,” artmatters, Fort Washington, PA
2009 – “Kosman’s journey,” Alliance Francaise de Philadelphie, Philadelphia, PA, by Victoria Donohoe, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA
2010 – “Artist/rapper,69, protests gun violence through his artwork,” by Ashley Nguyen, Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia, PA
2011 – “Brooklyn, personally,” Society Hill Synagogue, Philadellphia, PA, by Victoria Donohoe, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA
2013 – “Luc en peinture fête ses 20 ans ce week-end,” Luc-sur-Mer, Ouest France, Caen, France
2017 – Appearance on France 3 Television, “Les Plaisirs d’Ete,” on digue at Saint Aubin-sur-Mer, France
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