The Unrecognized Hostess
Andrea (Drea) McAlister
Acrylic painting on stretched canvas
$50.00
Artist Statement
When you first search Juila Dent Grant, the first and sometimes the only thing you will see is that she was an army wife. The next thing you might learn is that she was known for hosting lavish parties and afternoon teas. Actually in most articles the focus more on the men in her life than her herself, interest, hobbies, how active of a First Lady she actually was.
In this piece I've created geometric shapes with colors and patterns that were very popular in fashion in the mid-late 1800s. I included both casual and formal patterns to represent the lavish parties and afternoon teas. In the middle of the piece I included a black silhouette of Julia to represent how unrecognized and unappreciated she is. This also represents how she doesn’t have her own identity and is known as “The daughter of..” or “The Army wife of..”
About the Artist
My name is Andrea (Drea) McAlister, I'm from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is currently attending Golda Meir High School as a Senior.
I create art because it’s very therapeutic for me but it gives me a very positive outlook on my life and space for my imagination to run free. I specialize in acrylic paint, and I focus on the representation of African American women, silhouettes, and natural and geometric backgrounds. I also enjoy working with watercolor and colored pencils from time to time.
My art style is fusion Geometrical and Afrocentric. I am motivated to make art by my family, but I'm mostly motivated by how versatile and colorful each painting gets the more I paint. I've been creating art for the majority of my life, but I've started taking it seriously for the past 2 years. My favorite artist is Reyna Noriega. I find her work to be aesthetically pleasing due to how she flawlessly intertwines a mixture of cool and warm tones into her pieces, as well the similarity in how we portray the human body in our pieces. I connect with the art community by mainly posting pieces on social media, but I enjoy creating collaborative pieces with local artists. When people see my work, I hope they experience a sense of pride and joy.