P. Buckley Moss Exhibition Showing at the MOarts Gallery in July and August

The watercolors of P. Buckley Moss have charmed many Virginians, are collected by art lovers nationwide, and are treasured by those who love country décor. Struck by the simplicity of Mennonite and Amish farm life and the beauty of the mountain landscape when she moved her family to Virginia years ago, she continues to gather inspiration from her surroundings. Moss includes references to decorative and primitive folk traditions in her uniquely graceful, iconic watercolors. In addition, some of Moss’ paintings interpret beloved local landmarks. Her exhibit in the MOarts Gallery will feature The Peaks Visitor, a painting of the mountains in Bedford County. Angie Clawson, on the staff of P. Buckley Moss Galleries, Ltd. in Mathews, Virginia, describes this painting as showing “the famous Peaks of Otter and a few of its many visitors. Also included in the image is Abbott Lake and Polly Woods Ordinary.” Other similar paintings and prints will be included in the show. An artist who gives back to others by sponsoring art classes for children through her foundation, Moss acknowledges that she overcame her own learning disabilities through artistic expression during her childhood. In order to help more children find this artistic outlet, she founded the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education (http://www.mossfoundation.org) to “promote the integration of the arts into all educational programs, with a special focus on children who learn in different ways.” Another way for fans to connect with her benevolent work is with the P. Buckley Moss Society (http://www.mosssociety.org), an organization of enthusiastic art collectors who donate funds for scholarships and donate to Moss’s foundation. As an incentive to join the group, special prints and jewelry are available to members of the society. In other recent philanthropy, Patricia Buckley Moss donated funds for the Moss Center, a fine arts building at Virginia Tech, which opened on October 28, 2013. Information about the building may be accessed at: https://www.vt.edu/about/buildings/center-for-the-arts.html Housing a performance hall, studio spaces and a visual art gallery, the building supports her goals to facilitate education through art. Her philanthropy as well as her art has brought her much acclaim. One of her more recent awards was a 2014 inaugural Peter Cooper Public Service Award from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City. In another noted tribute to Patricia Buckley Moss, WVPT Public Television created a 2008 documentary “The Lady Behind the Brush” to commemorate her 75th birthday. The MOarts Gallery is located in the Moneta/ Smith Mountain Lake Library, a branch of the Bedford Public Library System