Woodie Long

   

My good friend Woodie Long passed away on Monday October 12, 2009. Of course Woodie was a good friend to so many of us and I know that each of us was and is honored to have been considered such by him ... never ceasing to be amazed at his paintings and the way they spoke to us, to laugh at his jokes, and to feel his compassion and open heart.

Woodie left in peace, and with love, Dot by his side.

He was ready to release, as was she, both in a place of grace.

We all stand with him and with Dot. We always will.

And we know that from wherever he may be, he will still be telling her which road to take, telling us all that he is right and we are wrong, watching to be sure that we are all celebrating his life, honoring Dot and making sure with a laugh that someone is retelling his jokes again and again.

Woodie loved our children at Art Creation Foundation For Children in Jacmel Haiti and sent his love and light to them from the very start ... and Dot did and surely does as well.

Yesterday, she decided that what he would have wanted in lieu of flowers or anything else that neither he nor she might want nor need, is that if you wish to honor his life, please make a donation in his honor to ACFFC.

And I cried when she told me, for I remember how he looked at the work of our children, their photos, and their growth as if each child were his own. We have established the Woodie Long "Art is Life" Fund.

 

And on youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTQhz0s1Pyg is a short video "Woodie Long Tribute, Another Good Man."

From: SavageCampana | October 16, 2009 |
Woodie Long Tribute, Another Good Man (Has Left Us All) by Mike Jones.
Mike Jones came over early this morning (10/13/09). He wanted to play this song for our dear friend, Woodie Long, who passed away this weekend. We drank coffee, cried, sang, and wrote a new verse. The song is a work in progress that began with the death of John Lennon and grows in meaning with the loss of Another Good Man. I made Mike sit down and record it this morning. We love you, Woodie. We miss you.

(Images above and below and words below are copyrighted and are courtesy of Marcia Weber, another member of our extended family.)

Woodie Long was a house painter for twenty-five years before he began experiencing health problems due to his occupation. He was depressed by his doctor’s orders to stop painting in 1987. Born in Plant City, Florida on October 19, l942, he was the son of a migrant farmer who settled in one place for a while to be a sharecropper. Being one of twelve children, Woodie was expected to work in the fields rather than to attend school so that work for him began at three years of age, carrying water to the seedlings in the fields. His family moved constantly “to where the work was” for the first fourteen years of Woodie’s life. Then, after moving to a city housing project in Tampa, Florida, his father soon abandoned the large family. Woodie never attended public school.

In the years that followed, Woodie became independent by becoming a house painter. He moved from place to place often similar to his early days of life, married twice and had two children before marrying Dot, his wife of many years. Although he would often paint his animated scenes on walls, painting over them before they were discovered, he painted his first work on paper one day when he was “itching to paint a house.” He had a desire to share the story of his life with his children. The only way that he could do this was by pouring out his memories by using his wife’s art brushes and paint from a community art class she had attended. When his paintings were seen while drying that day, he received instant encouragement from his family.

His bright happy creations of his memories also began being sought out and purchased by people far and wide. Now his works are in many major private and corporate collections throughout the U.S. and abroad and have been shown in New York exhibitions since l992. Examples of his art are included in the permanent collections of the Cooperstown Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art , Wiregrass Museum and the Columbus Museum of Art. to name a few. His paintings have been published in numerous books, as CD covers and accompanying magazine articles in major magazines such as Smithsonian.

Woodie Long still has the quaint house down a dirt road in Alabama and a beautiful garden where he and his wife grow much of their own food. He will happily tell you, “I was born to paint--I always loved painting. Painting makes me feel content and complete. Through my paintings I can leave a lot of memories for my kids.”

www.marciaweberartobjects.com

      

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