Biography of Artist Lori Escalera
1348 Clear Crest Cr., Vista C A 92084 • 760.295.4665
design. etc@cox. net • www .thestreetpainter.com
www .youtube.com/loriescal era
A native Los Angeleno, Lori centered her artistic life in the suburbs of the
Southern California. In the early 1990’s, Lori took a shift away from
commercial art interests towards Fine Art. Her artistic interests are figurative and revolve around
the study of the figure. Lori questions the artist's place in the continuum of art history and
questions cultural beliefs about history and myth. Lori is a cross medium artist, whose primary
work is done in oil paint and chalk. She exhibits her creativity in wet and dry mediums and in the
street. Her work takes on an energy and vibrancy that refreshes the spirit and enlivens the
imagination.
Escalera’s earliest influences in graphic design were Designer Sal Bass and the modular theories
of Artist Wassily Kandinsky. In the mid 1970’s, She served as an intern designing corporate
collateral at SDSU under Jerry Elliott. Consequentially, she relied heavily on abstraction of graphic
elements and modular composition in her later commercial design work. As a young college
student in the 1970’s, Lori was also influenced by textile Designer Shirley Eisman. Under Eisman’s
tutelage, Lori adopted a love for earth tone pigment mixes and organic shape.
In 1980 Lori was hired as protégé to Ben Mayer Architect/Interior Designer and studied under
Mayer’s influences for three years doing international applied Graphic Design and Architectural
Drawing. In 1981 she started her own graphic design/advertising firm “Graphica by Lori” which in
1986 morphed into “Design Etcetera.” Escalera has had a full career as a corporate graphic
designer working with aerospace, advertising, institutional and manufacturing firms.
1995, Lori founded a civic art group "The Culver City A.R.T. Group,” and served as its President
for four years, coordinating a variety of public art exhibitions between 1995 and 2000. She is a
founding Board of Director of Ballona Creek Renaissance, a 501-c3 an environmental civic
organization. Between 1994 - 2004, Escalera instructed hundreds of children and adults her ideas
about art history, drawing, painting, and cultural arts, in Southern CA - via camps, classes and
private lessons. In 1995 she began creating murals with community groups. The murals were antigraffiti project examples, strengthening societal bonds and serving underserved sectors.
In 1994 Lori began Chalk Art Street Painting. By 2008 she became one of the world’s top
recognized Street Painters in Madonnari style chalk in the street. Her love of Baroque artwork over
the years developed into her reproducing Baroque and Academic Classism in the street. The
influences of a pre-Impressionist painting pallet are seen in her street art and oil on canvas.
Influenced by contemporary Alla Prima oil painter associates in 2006, Escalera adopted an
Impressionistic Naturalistic Plein-Aire style. In 2010 Escalera began introducing Master style
painting into her painting repertoire. This involves layering more transparent layers of glaze over
bases of lower chroma color (done in either oil or tempera paint); influenced by European Masters
like Rembrandt and current Masters like F. Scott Hess.
Lori writes, speaks, holds painting and educational workshops; and enjoys photography and
technology, working on a Mac since 1988.
Lori received her Bachelor Art Degree Cum Laude in Graphic Design and Communication from
SDSU. She holds art degrees from WLA College and Los Angeles Trade Technical College and
her Certificate of Completion in Commercial Art from LATTC. She currently resides in North San
Diego County, California. Visit her website for more at: http://www.thestreetpainter.com