Patricia Buckley was born in the Richmond Borough of New York City. In 1964 Pat moved to Waynesboro in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. It was here that she came to appreciate the quiet beauty of rural scenery and to know the picturesque and deeply religious Amish and Mennonite "plain" people. Soon she was incorporating these new elements into her art.
For many who know her work and are familiar with her life and her upbeat philosophy, she truly is "The People's Artist".