INTERWOVEN: The Colors of Culture

Welcome to In Living Color!

Come experience an inspiring event, full of creativity and expression. Get ready to immerse yourself in a world of colorful art, sounds, and tastes.

Date: June 22, 2024

Time: 5pm - 8pm

Location: 1609 Haven Bend

Parking: Primrose School of Carrollwood 1770 W Bearss Ave

Experience an evening filled with live painting, music and sounds from other parts of the world, as well as drinks and appetizers that will delight your palate. Let your imagination run wild as you explore the beauty of artistic expression in all its forms.

Francesca Escoto is an emerging artist in the greater Tampa Bay area whose work inspires connection to ourselves and to others. The "INTERWOVEN" collection celebrates art itself, and the role it plays in helping people groups across the world create identity and community. This body of work is an art collector's dream - the perfect time for art enthusiasts to add fresh, vibrant works to existing or new collections.

Escoto's work incorporates acrylics, oils, fiber, and gel mediums to create intricate designs that capture people's attention and inspires them to find beauty every where.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Francesca Escoto was born and raised in the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic. Both her maternal and paternal families included visual and performing artists, ranging from singers to photographers, to graphic designers, painters, seamstresses, and shoe makers.

Escoto arrived in the US at the age of 11, and this is where the life-long multi-passionate life adventure began. Her first art class was at the University of Miami Museum of Art in 2000, where she learned charcoal drawing and focused on portraiture. Simultaneously, she was launching her serial-entrepreneur career, starting with a venture to build software to track the performance of aircraft engines. For the next two decades, she blended her engineering degree with entrepreneurship, continuing to draw for self, family and friends as a hobby.

20 years later, Francesca trained under Charla Marschalk, a Canadian acrylics color master, experimenting with bold color palettes and expressive portraiture. Over the course of four years, Escoto's work was influenced by older masters Klimt and Rembrandt, for their use of vibrant, colorful pattern and the masterful use of light in figures, respectively. Contemporary artists that have also influenced her include Bisa Butler, Tania Wursig, Jon Wassom, and Charla Marschalk, each of which use mixed media in unique ways, challenging Escoto to grow until her own voice and style emerged.

Francesca continues a mixed career in software, painting, and coaching. She lives in Tampa Bay with her husband, three daughters, mother, and her dog.