2011 Virginia Highlands Festival Signature Art

Each year, the Virginia Highlands Festival commissions an artist to create an original, signature piece to represent the Festival and its theme. The theme for the 2011 Virginia Highlands Festival is “Impressions of the Highlands”, and Kyle Buckland of Abingdon, Virginia, has been selected as the signature artist. This year’s artwork features a scene from the Arts & Crafts show and is titled “Festival Days.”

About the Artist

Kyle Buckland is a self-taught artist living and working in Southwestern Virginia. He is currently the resident artist at William King Museum and can often be found with his easel set up on the sidewalk, painting in downtown Abingdon. Kyle states that, “Abingdon is a great place for an artist to live and work. We have all the subject matter an artist could desire, from the majestic mountains to the historic architecture of the downtown area. So much creativity flourishes here, and it is a creativity that craves camaraderie. Because this area is intimate enough, most of the artists know and feed off of each other. Even if we are all working in different styles, we are generally aware of what the other artists are up to and enjoy coming together to share ideas and philosophies on art.” Kyle has had many shows in this area, including his first show at the age of 16 at the old Starving Artist Café, and has a large body of work in private collections around the Tri-cities.

Although landscape painting is Kyle's primary focus, he would like to be known as more than just a landscape painter: “I enjoy painting all types of subject matter from landscapes and still lifes to figures and farm animals. I think it is important for artists not to limit themselves or get stuck doing just one thing. By forcing myself to paint all types of subject matter I allow myself the opportunity to face new challenges and paint “outside the box” so to speak. Festival Days, the oil painting I created for the 2011 Virginia Highlands Festival, did just that. I had to combine painting outdoor light, figures, and still life objects all into one piece. I wanted to create a slice of life from the festival, a moment in time, frozen on the canvas that touched on many of the wonderful qualities of the festival. By including elements such as the band in the upper left, the different types of figures in the foreground and the antiques and merchandise under the tents, I hope to give the viewer the feeling of joy that I get from the festival and its atmosphere. I believe that the success of the Virginia Highlands Festival is not based on just one aspect, but on the variety of elements it brings to our town. It is in the way the air smells of festival food and cotton candy, the sound of live music in the distance, and the beautiful arrangement of color that the tents, merchandise and people bring to our streets. It is all these things and more combined that create the fun filled weeks of the festival. It is this feeling that is my true subject matter for the painting, and I hope the viewer can enjoy that same sense of child-like wonder that I experience when immersed in the midst of the Festival Days."

We hope you will come join the fun this year for the Festival! The dates for this year’s Festival are July 23 – August 7. For more information, please call the Festival Office at 276-623-5266 or e-mail at vhf@eva.org.


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