Vidal Angel on the left

1947- March 17, 2011

Life is Short. Live It.

Photo by Kim Sallaway who also wrote this beautiful remembrance.

My friend Vidal Angel passed away this morning, his life cut short by cancer in his brain. It all seemed to happen so quickly. One day I was enjoying Vidal’s hospitality, stepping outside his art studio into a misty rain to make a picture of him standing next to our friend Jerry, and the next week he was in surgery for a tumor. The surgery and chemo didn’t stop the cancer. Vidal was a classy guy, a fine person, a very talented artist, and a devoted family man. He made me smile, chuckle, and laugh out loud more times than I can count. I will miss him.

Vidal leaves behind his wife and partner in life, Akua, and his daughter, Luna. He was preceded to Zion by his best friend, Moese, his son.

This is a very sad piece of information to share. Vidal’s family will need all of the love and support you can give to them.

Vidal was an inspiration to me. His approach to art was simple. Do it. Do it well. Do the next inspiration with the same correct enthusiasm and joy. Never apologize and never explain when it was clearly a waste of time. He was the French raised son of a Jewish woman whose family fled the concentration camps, who married the sister of Bob Marley’s guitarist. He lived a rich life filled with fun and wondrous experiences.

He laughed a lot, smoked a lot, opined a lot, and died way too young.

Recently he had dinner with Sir Paul McCartney before his concert in Oakland. Paul asked him how long he had been growing his hair. Vidal’s dreads nearly touched the ground and he stood over 6 feet tall.

Vidal grinned, reached down to the hair nearest the floor, picked it up and said in his dead pan humorous way.

“The Beatles are down here.”

[Vidal made from this] from roach papers. …Sir Paul was given one of the limited edition prints that Vidal had made by a giclete printer.