Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center

(Abingdon, VA)  Paintings of local vistas by Kyle Buckland complement the Lobby of the recently completed addition to the SW VA Higher Education Center.

Kyle Buckland is a plein air landscape painter living in the rural Appalachian region of southwestern Virginia.  His understanding of the complex philosophies regarding impressionism and his ability to capture sunlight and colored atmosphere is uncanny for an artist of his age. As a self taught painter, Buckland has worked with oils since he was sixteen years old, stretching and priming his canvases and hauling his gear out into the surrounding fields and woods, never concerned with whether the temperature was ten degrees or if it was a languid summer day.  Each trip, to him, is an opportunity to capture something new.  In these seasonal excursions spanning nine years, Kyle, who is now 25, figures he has completed over one thousand paintings of the Appalachian landscape--many now in private and corporate collections around the country.  These works are a culmination of the painterly skills this young artist has developed during his time observing these mountains and their valleys.

In the words of the artist, his painting “captures the essence of a moment, the fleeting emotional quality that exists when we view sunlight on a mountain or a rustic snow-covered lane. The large painting Nestled In--Morning under Clinch Mountain is a view we have all seen before, a type of view that reminds us of the presence of the great mountain ranges that surround us.  I am fascinated by the way the towns are nestled into and protected by these mountains and wanted to paint a scene that would exemplify these qualities. By choosing to paint the scene in the early morning light I allow the viewer to feel the sensation of the town just beginning to stir, while Clinch Mountain is awake and eagerly greeting the morning sun.  This is one of those magic moments that, while ephemeral and fleeting in reality, can be captured and brought to life on canvas.”

On permanent display are:

• Nestled In - Morning under Clinch Mountain
• Plumb Alley Winter
• View From Courthouse Hill

Buckland’s paintings join other recently acquired work in the Center’s permanent collection.  On display are:  Chrysanthemums and Earwigs, by Leila Cartier; Lodi Suites I and II by Charles Goolsby; Sea Saw, Apollo Doesn’t Dream, Classical Splash, Mythos, In the Time of the Emperors, The Muses Break the Frame, Liberty Mandala – Wisdom Mandala, Hungry Feline:  Revenge Dream and Hall of Hours by Anne Ilka Armentrout; and Ghost of Johnny Appleseed, by D. R. Mullins.  The public is invited to view these and other paintings by local artists at the SW VA Higher Education Center in Abingdon, VA at Exit 14 of Interstate 81. 

  For additional information, please contact SVHEC at 276-619-4300.

###

MISSION STATEMENT:  The mission of the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center is to strengthen the regional economy of southwest Virginia by providing higher education and professional development training of the current and future workforce.

Nestled In, Oil on Canvas – Kyle Buckland

Chrysanthemums, 2007, Oil on Canvas – Leila Cartier