Painting the Poetry of Paris 

Sometimes, even if you intend to resist it—an iconic subject may still be the right subject for a painting. Pastelist W. Truman Hosner rose to the challenge, finding his own artistic truth in a painting of Notre Dame Cathedral. 

For many artists, a significant part of travel is becoming acquainted with the locale by capturing its scenery in art. Michigan-based artist W. Truman Hosner appreciates travel as an opportunity to expand knowledge. “As an artist, naturally, I paint and sketch as I travel,” he says. “I do so, however, not to make a record of where I have been, but rather to record what I have learned.” The artist remembers thinking, upon his arrival in France for an extended two-month stay, that he wanted to make the most of the many painting opportunities he was sure to have. “I didn’t want to make vacation paintings,” he says. “I wanted to see if I could get to a piece of truth—to capture the poetry—of the region. And I wanted to try to make each painting unique.” 

With these goals in his head, Hosner says he probably wouldn’t have set out to paint such a recognizable subject as Notre Dame Cathedral, but not everything goes according to plan. When the artist ventured into Paris for a 10-day stay, he fully intended to spend time painting. But it was May, and the city was enjoying an unusual stretch of warm, sunny weather. “I’d spend mornings studying and sketching in the museums,” he says, “and when I’d come out, Paris was in the full bloom of spring. I simply walked and walked and walked, relishing the joie de vivre.” Finally, with just two mornings left, the artist was determined to produce one painting in Paris. 

“My apartment was near Notre Dame, so I’d been walking by the grand dame cathedral practically every day,” Hosner says. “I decided to forget how many times it had been painted before and see if I could arrive at some truth of my own.” Knowing that his painting time was limited, Hosner decided to break from his usual practices and went out the evening before to prepare. “I wanted to lay out the composition based on what I predicted would be the effective light in the morning,” he says. “And I got lucky.” Not only was his pre-planning effective, but something happened that no doubt contributed to the magical quality of the piece. “That evening, a handsomely dressed, older French couple, who were out for their routine evening walk, stopped and watched me work for almost 45 minutes,” 

Hosner says. “They spoke no English, but they didn’t need to. Their smiles said plenty.” The next morning, when Hosner had just about brought the painting to completion, he heard an exclamation from behind. “It was the same couple, now out for their morning walk,” he says. “Once again, their smiles crossed all language barriers.” 

Meet the Artist 

William Truman Hosner earned his BFA at Wayne State University in Detroit. He went on to study illustration at the Center for Creative Studies, College of Art and Design in Detroit, where he eventually returned to teach. At the peak of a successful commercial art career, Hosner re-focused himself, studying under master painters Harley Brown and Dan Gerhartz. Soon, plein-air painting captured his passion, and the artist was fortunate to have the personal mentoring of Max Altekruse. Hosner was the first Grand Prize winner in the Pastel Journal’s international Pastel 100 competition. His paintings have been featured in museum exhibitions all over the world.  

This article originally appeared in the August 2012 issue of Pastel Journal.