March 25 – April 30, 2022

Tara Esperanza has always been interested in and inspired by nature. Her affection for and appreciation of the environment was realized at a very young age and as a painter she has consistently been drawn to the natural world as her subject. Esperanza’s interest lies in sharing the beauty that she sees through her art.

The Succulent Garden is her latest body of work. She began focusing on succulents when she was commissioned to paint them four years ago. That project propelled her into a greater discovery of and deeper relationship with the plants. Whether caring for her own plants or appreciating them in nature, she finds that space and time to be sacred; as she nurtures them, they nurture her.

Esperanza recognizes the power of plants and the effect they have on her. She is interested in their personalities, particularly how resilient they are, how they share space, how they thrive while living in community, and how they lean on each other and hold each other up. She is also inspired by their abundant variety of texture, color, and shape. In her work, she looks deeply into the plants and expresses the interesting compositions that she sees. Her paintings celebrate the diversity and beauty she sees in the succulent world. Her hope is that viewers experience a new, or greater, appreciation of plants, connecting with nature through her work.