Buddy Snipes
Self-taught artist, James A. “Buddy” Snipes, was born in Macon County, Alabama Oct. 30,1943 and passed away July 20, 2026 at the age of 86. His last name may actually be “Snipe” instead of “Snipes” but when asked, he said his name had an “s” on the end but he didn’t always use it!
Since childhood, Buddy Snipes made things out of whatever materials were available. His inspiration came from his imagination and from people and animals he knew. Frequently, he added sticks around the tin paintings to frame his works. Buddy had a wonderful dry sense of humor and often the titles he gave his pieces were creative and funny. “Mrs Bowleg Lady Doing the Holy Dance” is a good example. He enjoyed entertaining himself and his visitors when divulging a title but he always tried to maintain a straight face!
Typical of the best self-taught artists who have no background in art, Buddy Snipes had an amazingly original style. His work displayed a distinctly African flavor and his sense of color and composition was totally innate.
Buddy didn’t like to talk much about himself and was reluctant to allow photographs. He believed that someday he would be famous and someone would write his biography but until then, he would say, “we will leave it right there.”
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