Eleanor Buckley - The Village Common of RI

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Village Voices is the showcase of creativity by the members and volunteers of The Village Common of Rhode Island. We welcome submissions in all media: 2- and 3-dimensional art, creative writing, transformative ideas, crafting, and art collections. As important is the personal stories that accompany each submission.

See the guidelines for submission.

Eleanor Buckley

Eleanor May (Perry) Buckley was born May 20, 1927. She grew up in Westport, Massachusetts with 5 sisters and 6 brothers. She moved to Rhode Island at the age of 18 to start a new job and has lived here ever since. Eleanor has had many hobbies during her lifetime and excelled at all of them. She made dollhouses and meticulously furnished them with items that she crafted by hand. She also made beautiful pottery, jewelry, rugs, quilts and shell art. Her interest in watercolor painting began only three years ago in December 2019, at the age of 92, when she signed up for a monthly class with Sue Greco, a Rhode Island art teacher. Eleanor purchased paint and watercolor paper from Sue and began painting up a storm. She found inspiration for her paintings by searching through pictures on the internet, with the help of a friend who also photographed each completed work of art before Eleanor gave them away.

Eleanor joined the Westerly Village in November 2021, but has not yet called on them for assistance. It gives her peace of mind to know that she has resources in place whenever they are needed.

Eleanor is grateful for this opportunity to share her watercolor paintings with members of The Village Common. To date they have only been seen by friends and family.

Editor’s note: The offerings above were prepared with the help of Cheryl Hoelck, Resident Service Coordinator at Chestnut Court Parkview Apartments. The statement below comes from Sue Greco, Eleanor’s art teacher (suegrecopaints.com).

In December 2019 l held my first watercolor class where Eleanor lives. That first day something special happened. Her hand glided over the paper so naturally and the result was stunning. She found a talent she never knew she had. In the weeks that followed, Eleanor painted every day. First it was birds of all types, next small animals. She liked Beatrix Potter's work so much that she started painting those characters too.

On one class day, Eleanor took me to her apartment and showed me all her paintings that she had framed and hung. It was like a gallery. She ran out of wall space! During the pandemic she continued to paint, entertaining herself, and the results were magical.

Sue Greco