Today we’d like to introduce you to Alain McAlister
Hi Alain, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve been an artist for longer than I can remember. I come from a very creative family that let me paint at the kitchen table and sprawl across the floor with pastels. In high school, I realized people could actually do art for a living, and I decided that I’d start taking it more seriously and look into what that meant. I was introduced to the world of art markets during my time at Webster University, and thanks to the amazing community of the art department there, I signed up for the Print Bazaar on Cherokee Street. It was the best introduction to the support St. Louis gives to its artists, and it’s become something I look forward to every year. Since graduating, I’ve continued to work creatively for businesses like Betty’s Books, as well as working on personal projects, teaching, and selling at local events.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Art making has always felt intuitive for me; it’s how I process and understand myself in the world around me. Learning the intricacies and practical parts of working in a creative field, however, couldn’t feel more unnerving. No one really tells you what you need in order to prepare for an eight hour art market, or how to value your labor, or how to manage the insecurities and vulnerability of working in an ever changing landscape. There’s a lot of structure you have to decide for yourself when you work in the arts, and I still feel like I haven’t found out what works best for me. A lot of times, things fall behind or don’t work exactly how I imagined it. Even so, it’s getting a bit more comfortable each time I decide to just keep trying things.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work is a collection and extension of my identities, feelings, thoughts, and relationships with others. I use art to process the world around me while simultaneously imagining what it could be. I want to make work that creates space for complexities and conversations that connect people. Ominously serene bones decaying in a forest allow us to talk about a feeling we may know in our gut but don’t know how to bring up. A crocheted quilt reading “gender is not real” allows for a conversation on comfort, self-care, and the work that needs to be done. A portrait of two friends documents a warmth and love for a lifetime.
I frequently play with color and texture; I feel it allows my work to be easily accessible, even if there are heavy emotions in it. I love working in multiple mediums, and I think being able to go from zines and comics to paintings and fiber works allows me to really explore the feelings I’m investigating.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
At the end of the day, you can’t actually be a starving, solitary artist. If you want to keep making things for a long time, you need to be able to take care of yourself/be taken care of. While a day job helps, community really is the reason I feel like I can take risks. Community empowers me to connect with others for advice, skill sharing, and creativity, which in turn gives back to myself and others. It protects all of us and allows us to choose the risks we really want, with the support incase it doesn’t work out how we thought it would.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amcaart.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.mca.art/
