We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Suzanne Buckland. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Suzanne below.

Suzanne, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

In second grade, I had the most amazing art teacher, Ms. Lammers. She told my mom that I had artistic talent but I think my mom already knew it. My mom’s sister was an artist and had encouraged me since I could hold a crayon. My Aunt Dorothy always gave me gifts of paint and paper, paint-by-number kits, and things like that. I must have been about ten when she gave me my first oil paint set. I found a huge piece of cardboard in the basement of our house and painted a big tree. My cousin saw it and gave me twenty dollars for it. I couldn’t believe it. I had been saving money for a bike, so the occasion was quite memorable. I knew I wanted to be an artist right then and there. It’s been a very long journey from then until now but well worth it. I’m very happy when I’m creating.

Suzanne, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Ever since I was in elementary school, I have always searched for opportunities to create. It’s a compulsion of mine and a way of life. I was very fortunate to have an excellent art program at the high school I attended. When I was sixteen, I joined Youth for Understanding and became an exchange student to The Netherlands where I studied art, specifically oil painting in a special weekend program at The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, as well as attended classes at an advanced high school during the week in Zwolle where I lived. After I returned to the United States, I studied minored in art at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Soon afterward I got married and had children, so I concentrated on raising my family until my children were older and I had more time. In 2009 I made the leap and became a full-time visual artist. I currently work every day either in my home studio in Katy, Texas or at my studio in The Silos at Sawyer Yards in downtown Houston, Texas. I specialize in two-dimensional artwork, oil and acrylic painting, and mixed media collage created with reused materials. My artwork ranges from small to large pieces. It’s constantly changing and evolving, from realism to abstract. Recently I’ve been working in larger scale works, mainly very abstract with a twist on landscapes. I create series of works from four to fifteen pieces of the same series as opposed to single pieces. Some of my latest series are my Freeform series of mixed media collage on recycled wood, utilizing all reused materials such as paper, plastic, cardboard, fabric, etc. The pieces are not rectangular but somewhat cloud shaped, thinking out of the box. There are thirteen pieces in the series and were shown as an installation in June of 2024 in Gallery 300 at The Silos at Sawyer Yards where I’m a resident artist. Some of my other series include “Spirit of the Rainforest”, smaller oil paintings of animals and landscape scenes in a realistic style, monochromatic series or larger acrylic pieces featuring paintings in green, blue, sepia, and orange tones, and my latest series of “The Four Seasons”, much larger abstract acrylic paintings. Many clients are attracted to my pieces for their business offices or larger spaces in their homes. I also conduct workshops for private groups such as painting parties for senior and assisted living facilities, corporate retreats, and birthday parties, as well as performing live paintings for galas and fund raisers. I’m proud to be the president of Houston Visual Artist Network, board member of Sawyer Yards Artist Advisory Committee, and member of Women’s Caucus for Art, Texas. I enjoy working with artists’ groups, curating exhibitions in area galleries and public spaces, and planning events.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a visual artist for me is working with other artists and curating exhibitions for people to enjoy. I have been a curator since 2007 and just love it when an exhibition comes together, especially working with a diverse group of artists in a variety of genres and media, highlighting the best of each individual.
This is what motivates me work as a volunteer with Houston Visual Artist Network of which I am a co-founder. I previously served as president of two other art organizations, Artists, Alive and Well and Spectra Artists. I believe my artwork stands alone but is even better paired with the work of other artists. I enjoy piecing together an eclectic mix of different works and bringing them into a cohesive display.
I also love to plan events around the arts, mixing visual arts with music and performing arts. I feel like this is a fantastic way to provide an immersive experience for people to get outside themselves, relax, feel, and enjoy life away from stress and work.
I use this approach when creating my artwork as well. My method combines many parts inspiring the viewer to experience the piece over and over again from a different perspective.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I felt that I was at the height of my career in 2015 when I was the director of Galerie Spectra in Memorial City Mall here in Houston. It was a beautiful space where over 150 area artists displayed their work. Suddenly, one of the large corporate retail chains decided they wanted to lease the space and of course the mall agreed. They didn’t provide another space inside the mall to continue the gallery for the community and I was left to search for another space which I did not find. Two weeks after having to move out of the gallery, I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Not only did I lose my dream gallery but didn’t know if I would live. I have been through treatments, chemotherapy, radiation, several surgeries, and continuous medications but I’m resilient enough to continue my journey. i live every day with the pain from the cancer. It has not spread but I don’t think it will ever go away, unless the medical industry has a breakthrough. I’m just happy to continue creating. It’s not as easy as it used to be but with the help of my family and friends, I continue on.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bucklandgallery.com
• Instagram: @confident_realm
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/houstoncurator
• Other: https://www.houstonvisualartistnetwork.com/copy-of-suzanne-buckland
  https://www.sawyeryards.com/tenant/suzanne-buckland
  https://suzanne-buckland.pixels.com/