6/6/2024: Local Painter Captures the Preserve in Her Work

Local Painter Captures the Preserve in Her Work

“Art is an interactive experience, and I hope to conjure sensory feelings in the viewer.”

Artist Jean Childs Buzgo has been in the New Hope area since 1999 and enjoys the Preserve in a unique way: capturing a moment of nature forever on her canvas. With that moment, she herself becomes a preservationist, sharing not only the view but the entire experience in mixed media.

“Just like art, I believe nature grounds and connects us all to ourselves and each other,” says Buzgo. “I find a lot of peace in that and am able to let go of ‘self’, becoming part of something bigger. I can be alone in nature and never feel alone.”

She first visited the Preserve with a desire to give her children their own environmental experiences. Letting them dig in the dirt and learn as they explored created a lifelong appreciation for the world around them.

“I have beautiful memories of us walking in the Preserve’s forests and along the creek,” she reminisces. “One day, we saw so many little frogs, and my children and I were crouching down, counting and watching them. It was so exciting! We marveled at the other wildlife such as the butterflies and birds, flitting throughout the flowers. As my children got older, they started identifying plants and animals, teaching me things in return!”

Those memories, and the feelings that make them so compelling, are poured into Buzgo’s work. Through her paintbrush, she conveys her emotions to others so that they too may experience them.

“It’s a fascinating connection that happens when somebody purchases a painting,” she says. “They’re collecting a shared experience. I’m putting it out there, and they’re receiving the message, interpreting it in their own way.”

Buzgo’s artwork can be found on her website, Facebook, and Instagram. To see her work in person, The Silverman Gallery, located in Buckingham, PA, is celebrating their 10th anniversary with her during her solo exhibition through June 9, featuring over 35 new pieces created in the last 18 months. Buzgo is represented there year round.

If you are interested in purchasing a painting, reach out to Buzgo herself or The Silverman Gallery.