Tara Esperanza is a painter whose work grows from a sustained fascination with the natural world. She is especially drawn to succulents, whose resilience, diversity, and structural beauty provide enduring inspiration. Through careful observation, she transforms these plants into images that are both intimate and expansive, inviting viewers to encounter nature with renewed attention.Esperanza’s paintings celebrate the individuality of each plant while also revealing the subtle relationships that bind living forms together. Often imagining the world from the perspective of a bee moving through hidden spaces, she brings a sense of immersion and wonder to her compositions. Her work reflects a reverence for nature’s quiet intelligence and a desire to deepen our sense of connection to it. EDUCATION AND TRAINING1990 - 1995University of Massachusetts at DartmouthBachelor of Fine Arts, Cum LaudeDean's List 1994, 1995SUMMER 1994Pont-Aven School of Art, Pont-Aven FranceLandscape Painting Summer Program1994 - 1995The Brenda Taylor Gallery, Newbury St. Boston Ma.Gallery Assistant SOLO EXHIBITIONSAUGUST 5 – AUGUST 18, 2025"Rooted in Time” Women’s United Art Movement Online GalleryJUNE 6 - JULY 13, 2025"Rooted in Time” Mercury Twenty Gallery Oakland CAJUNE 21 - JULY 27, 2024"For the Love of a Butterfly” Mercury Twenty Gallery Oakland CAJUNE 16 - JULY 22, 2023"A Bee’s Perspective” Mercury Twenty Gallery Oakland CA.JUNE 8 - JULY 21, 2022"The Virtual Succulent Garden” Women’s United Art Movement Online GalleryMARCH 25 - APRIL 30, 2022"The Succulent Garden” Mercury Twenty Gallery Oakland CA.OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 28, 2020"I SEE YOU” Mercury Twenty Gallery Oakland CA. GROUP EXHIBITIONSJANUARY 8 - FEBRUARY 13, 2026, "ANEW" Andra Norris Gallery. Burlingame, CA NOVEMBER 15-DECEMBER 23, 2025, Winter Salon, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CAJUNE 28 – AUGUST 9, 2025“Membership Medley” Blue Line Art Center Roseville CAJUNE 6 – July 19, 2025“Chromatic Bloom” Artworks Downtown Gallery San Rafael CAMAY 28 – JULY 31, 2025“The Language of Contemporary Landscapes” Warnes Contemporary Virtual Gallery BrooklynNYMAY 6 – JUNE 30, 2025“Art as Refuge” O’Hanlon Gallery Mill Valley CAMAY 1 – MAY 31, 2025“Emerald Spring Painting Exhibition” Emerald Spring Art Center Springfield ORFEBRUARY 7 – MARCH 8, 2025“Rhythms and Reveries” Mercury 20 Gallery Oakland CADECEMBER 6 – DECEMBER 28, 2024“Art for the Winter Solstice” Mercury 20 Gallery Oakland CAAUGUST 30 – OCTOBER 31, 2024"Radiant Voices” VISIONARY ART COLLECTIVE Virtual ExhibitionNOVEMBER 28 - DECEMBER 30, 2023"ART FOR THE WINTER SOLSTICE” Mercury 20 Gallery Oakland CAOCTOBER 28, 2023 – JANUARY 28, 2024"SHAPE + FORM” Sturt Haaga Gallery Los Angeles CAMAY 12 – JUNE 17, 2023"Open Up” Mercury 20 Gallery Oakland CAApril 22 – JUNE --, 2023"Alchemy” Create Magazine Virtual ExhibitionNOVEMBER 29, 2022 –JANUARY 28, 2023"ART FOR THE WINTER SOLSTICE” Mercury 20 Gallery Oakland CA SEPTEMBER 25 – NOVEMBER2, 2022"REVELATIONS” The New Visionary Collective Virtual ExhibitionMAY 12 – 15, 2022"Art At Bioneers” Palace of Fine Arts San Francisco CAJANUARY 1 - 10, 2022"Plants, Portraits, Filters, & Fibers” 4 X 8-BRIDGES Gallery Online NOVEMBER 13 – DECEMBER19, 2021"PURE PAINT” Arts Benecia Gallery, Benecia CA.SEPTEMER 21 – NOVEMBER 21, 2021"The Autumn Exhibition” The Curator’s Salon Gallery OnlineJULY 15 - OCTOBER 15, 2021"I'm Speaking: The Language of Art” P x P Contemporary Gallery OnlineJUNE 29 - JULY 30, 2021"VERDANT” San Francisco Women Artists Gallery San Francisco CA.JUNE 8 - AUGUST 8, 2021"International Online Artists Guild Summer Exhibition” San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego CAJUNE 5 - JULY 10, 2021"SH1FT” Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery Lafayette CA.SEPTEMBER 16 - DECEMBER 11, 2020"California Dreaming" Village Theatre Art Gallery Danville CA.SEPTEMBER 1 - 30 2020"Botanicals" Grey Cube Gallery Online ExhibitionNOVEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 1, 2019"Seascapes” Light Space & Time Art Gallery Palm Springs CA.OCTOBER 18 - NOVEMBER 16, 2019Day of the Dead ~ Dia de los Muertos "Creative Life and Love" Sun Gallery Hayward CA.SEPTEMBER 1 - 9 2019Annual “Open” Art Exhibition” Light Space & Time Art Palm Springs CA.JUNE 27th, 2019Solano Ave ArtWalk Exhibit Flowerland Nursery Albany CA.FEBRUARY 10 - JUNE 9, 2019“Unusual Views” Sturt Haaga Gallery Descanso Gardens La Canada Flintridge CA. DECEMBER 1 -31 20184th Annual “Leaves and Petals” Fusion Art Gallery Palm Springs CA.OCTOBER 19 - NOVEMBER 22, 2018“Day of the Dead Exhibit” Maria Sanchez Gallery Oakland CA.JUNE 9 - JULY 15, 2018“No Mud No Lotus” A botanical art show. Orangeland Gallery San Francisco C.A.MAY 31 - JULY 15, 2018“Persistence” Museum of Northern California Artists Chico CA HONORS AND AWARDS2025Best in Show at Emerald Springs National Painting Exhibition2020Botanicals Merit Award for outstanding art.20199th Annual Seascapes Art ExhibitionSpecial Recognition in Excellence1998Espanola Valley Arts Festival Award3rd Place for Acrylic Painting1995Neugebauer Scholarship AwardHigh Honors in Fine Art at the University of Massachusetts DartmouthART PUBLICATIONS ART PUBLICATIONSMARCH 2024Santa Fe Gallery Association Juried CatalogMARCH 2024New Visionary Magazine Issue 9MARCH 2023“It’s Never Too Late to Start Your Art Career” New Visionary Podcast Episode 11 FEBRUARY2023Create Magazine the Magic Issue #34SEPTEMBER 2022“Art & Community – A Mutual Enhancement” 2 Close 2 The Sun Podcast ART OBSESSIONSEpisode #6SUMMER 2022ART SEEN MAGAZINE Issue #4SEPTEMBER 2021An interview and Exhibition ALL SHE MAKES MAGAZINE Summer Edition