A trip to Mexico with her artist father, Arnold Schifrin, changed Franceska’s life.  Fascinated with the sheer amount of visual stimulus in that country, she embarked on extended visits to the countries whose people and life circumstances inspire her numerous canvasses and works on paper.  During more than 20 years, she spent as many as six months per year in countries like Haiti, Uganda, Guatemala, Nepal, Bosnia, Morocco and Cuba.  She sets up her sketching pad in the streets, marketplaces, cafes, churches and in people's homes, immersing herself in those countries' cultures in order to capture the emotional images that inform her work.

Franceska's concerns are with the human form as it displays emotion, spirituality, and personal force in daily life.  With the use of oil on canvas and mixed media works on paper, she also successfully exposes economic prejudice, sexism and worldwide racism.  On a deeper, more personal level is the artist's intent to explore peoples' way of merging traditional lifestyles with the contemporary world's economics, politics, religions and technology. Through her passionate utilization and deft knowledge of paint quality, color and form, she more than achieves this goal.

Franceska attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City.  Since then, she has exhibited in over fifty group and one person shows throughout California and New York.  In 1991, she was awarded the prestigious J. Paul Getty Trust Fund/Fellowship for the Visual Arts.

Franceska’s work continues to be inspired by the places she travels to and the people she loves, creating beautiful and burning images.  

She is available for commissions.