Local artist Hope Kent of Hurley is turning heads nationally as she remains in the top five of The People’s Artist competition and has climbed as high as third place in the public voting. The nationwide contest, presented by Johnny Depp and operated by Colossal on behalf of AIT to benefit The Art of Elysium, is open to artists 18 and older and features visual work from creators across North America.
For Kent, the recognition is tied closely to the life she built after moving with her husband, Earl, to the Lester Fork section of Hurley a few years ago. What began as a retirement move quickly turned into a creative home base, where mountain scenery, wildlife and Appalachian life became the inspiration for her work. “It is so inspiring around here which might have really sparked our artistic interest,” Kent said. “It is just so gorgeous.”
Earl Kent, a retired computer software engineer turned blacksmith, creates knives, gardening tools, letter openers and other forged pieces, while Hope Kent paints and draws wildlife and landscapes in pencil, acrylic, watercolor and colored pencil. Their work is displayed at the Southern Gap Visitor Center, where visitors can view and purchase their handcrafted pieces.
The Kents met more than a decade ago in the Hampton Roads area after being matched on a dating website. After years of dating, they married more than five years ago. Earl spent much of his life moving around the world, while Hope was born in Michigan and lived in several states before retirement brought them together in Southwest Virginia.
Originally, the couple said they were looking to settle in the Wise County area. A conversation with a realtor changed that plan and eventually led them to Buchanan County.
“We were looking and kind of basing ourselves out of the Norton area,” Kent said. “Our realtor happened to mention she was from Grundy, and I said, ‘Where’s Grundy?’ So we went home, and I looked it up and found several houses. I said we are going to look in Grundy next.”
Since settling in the mountains, Kent said her art has grown along with her confidence. She describes herself as self-taught, crediting online research, art groups and constant practice for helping her expand beyond acrylics into graphite, colored pencil and watercolor. “You can learn a lot if you want it bad enough,” she said.
Her work often focuses on single subjects — birds, deer, foxes and people — with an eye toward fine detail. Kent said she likes the viewer’s attention to settle on one focal point rather than a crowded scene, and she has developed techniques in graphite layering, erasing highlights and working on drafting film to add depth and precision.
More recently, Kent has embraced watercolor, experimenting with stronger color and delicate brushwork even while recovering from a recent tendon transfer surgery on her dominant hand. She said she is following medical instructions carefully and expects to return fully to painting once the hand heals.
The competition Kent is entered in uses public voting rather than a judge-only panel. According to the contest’s official rules, voters receive one free vote every 24 hours, and additional votes can be cast through donations. The fundraiser supports The Art of Elysium, which says it uses creativity as a catalyst for healing and connection through art programs in hospitals, schools, senior-care facilities and other community settings.
The official contest site says the winner will receive $25,000, a feature in Artforum Magazine and an exclusive exhibit at The Art of Elysium’s Art Salon in Los Angeles. The contest is currently in the group-finalist phase, with voting for that round scheduled to end June 11 at 7 p.m. PDT.
Kent said she hopes the attention does more than recognize her own work. She sees it as a chance to spotlight the creative talent already present in Buchanan County and to encourage more support for local artists, makers and young people exploring the arts.
“There’s so much talent here,” she said. “If people could see it, it would bring more people in. It could bring everything back to life.”
For Kent, the competition has become more than a national contest. It is also a way to show that a small Appalachian community can produce art worthy of a much bigger stage.
