William J. Allen is an African American artist based out of Brooklyn, NY.  In 2001 he attended The Brooklyn High School of Arts to study Fine Arts. After graduating he studied Illustration at The Fashion Institute of Technology in 2005. During his time at F.I.T he traveled abroad to Florence Italy in 2007 to further his studies in fine arts and the history of Renaissance Art. After graduating from F.I.T William has presented his paintings at various Galleries in Brooklyn such as The Green Point Gallery, the Akwa Barbershop and the 101 Art Gallery.  In 2015 William along with other artist started the group/event Shadez of Artistry that taught guest how to paint, draw, meditate and creative writing from his art studio at the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s. William’s individual business is Paintbrush4life and focuses on a wide range of topics such as sports, movies, history, cityscapes and spirituality. The goal is to strike emotion’s into the viewer and have viewer’s see life from a new perspective.