Alexandra Hood
Alexandra Hood earned her B.A. from Elmira College and currently works in her hometown of Lewiston, Maine. Focusing on realistic oil paintings and graphite portraits, Alexandra frequently explores the subjects of human connection and emotional transparency in her work. The depiction of money flowers, a popular theme in her paintings, reference the delicate relationship between materialism and our expressions of power and love. Alexandra's portrait drawings manipulate the veil placed between the subject and the viewer, expressing or shielding the underlying fragments of our natural selves and peeling back the layers of personal identity. In recent work, her ballpoint pen studies focus on an artist's deliberate observation of familiar subjects in nature. In these drawings she purposefully trains the viewer's eye to otherwise overlooked and intimate details, allowing viewers to truly engage with the subject in front of them without the distractions of modern life. All botanical drawings are created on a light green cotton rag paper with deckled edges, creating a synergy between material and subject matter. Alexandra Hood has been included in multiple solo and group exhibitions between Maine, Upstate New York, and New York City. Alexandra currently works at Bates College as the Olin Arts Center Operations Supervisor.
Public art is valuable because it represents our city, our culture, our history, and our development. Art brings people together in all of these ways - it's a universal language that everyone understands, whether they realize that or not. When people look at art they almost always feel something, whether that's happiness or awe or a negative emotional response. The art on Lisbon Street visibly makes people stop and admire their surroundings. My work contributes to this in different ways - by helping with murals and sidewalk art (now torn up for new pavement) the street brightens and appeals to a broad audience. When I complete plein air paintings on Lisbon street or do any of my personal artwork live in public, I have numerous people stop, stare, and ask me questions. When I create personal artwork and display inside local businesses, community members reach out to me inquiring about how to buy or commission art for their own spaces.
Public Artworks:
-
Flower Mural
I truly hope Lewiston and Auburn continue expanding their public art. I've heard only positive responses from our latest projects. People are curious, they admire art, and they love seeing both the process and the product. Business people, the homeless, and everyone in between have kindly stopped to admire my work and speak with me. I don't find many other things that unite and attract such a wide variety of people. If public art was unimportant, no one would bother taking time to stop, watch, ask, listen, or learn like they do.
