Vincent Keele (b. 1970)

Vincent Keele is a Seattle-based artist – His work uses bold colorful and rhythmic movements to create abstract expressionist artworks and symbolic figurative works. He uses various fields from traditional to contemporary to portray his visual narratives. Keele’s work has been showcased in numerous countries around the world.

Keele was born in Los Angeles, California. His passion for art began very early. His mother, Mary M. Scott, an alumni of the Art Institute of Chicago passed on to him her complete course of books. With these materials, he learned to see and produce art in a wide variety of methods.

As both a painter and a curator, Keele has organized exhibitions such as Predators and Women, The Black Panther Art and Fashion Show, An Evening with Kathleen Cleaver, and Abstracted View. His own work has evolved to expressionism, primarily in acrylic on canvas. His paintings have been exhibited in several respected Seattle arts institutions such as the Center of Contemporary Art (CoCA) and the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM), Schack Art Center, the Northwest Art Museum and the City of Shoreline, and all the main art fairs.

His figurative paintings employ skilled brushwork and a bold palette, often in compelling environments which invite the viewer to explore the subject’s surroundings for further insight and clues into it’s narrative. He often references Black history, African patterns and design, contemporary Black life; occasionally drawing upon his knowledge of European art traditions.

Keele benefited from great mentors along the way. He is a self taught artist with traditional education from Platt College where he studied Graphic Arts and Drafting. Before his love of acrylic paint, the complexity of pen and ink held a special place in his heart. Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, Keele creates paintings with the goal of retelling history and bringing back special people and places that have been misplaced, forgotten or unknown.

My Signature Orange Edges

My orange edges pay homage to the artist of the renaissance era and the romantic painter Joseph Mallord Turner (J.M.W). Who said every painting should have a touch of red to make it complete. I found the color Vermilion to be the perfect mix of orange that I love and red that Mr. Turner felt was needed in a painting to call it finished. The orange edges are an identifying trait that signifies this is an original artwork, and the warm tone complements the body of the painting design. You can expect to find my signature orange edges on every original painting that I create.

Everyday Black Series

The Everyday Black paintings were created to show African Americans in everyday situations in a true light. By retelling history, bringing back phenomenal people and places that have been forgotten, misplaced or unknown, I shed light on the black culture in a positive, uplifting manner. These new works use bold colors, African symbols (Adinkra) and artistic markings to explore the culture from the everyday living point of view, how we grow up, places we visit and things we do and life’s interactions.

Public Collections

Oregon State University
Fox TV Show – Our Kind of People
City of Shoreline

The National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center
Puyallup Watershed
Junebaby Restaurant – Beard Award Chef

Indigenous Series...

The Indigenous Series aims to touch viewers’ souls with both personal and public artworks, offering a respite from stressful days through colorful and meaningful imagery. My art carefully uses colors that connect with the chakras. The artworks themselves are meticulously planned, built upon a geometric foundation to provide the most powerful base for the painting.
The Indigenous series utilizes a unique technique I call Rhythm Writing. Rhythm Writing employs rhythmic movements through the use of Spencerian calligraphy marks, African Adinkra symbols, and Japanese characters. I view it as a visual language, where each element is used interchangeably, not to be read literally like a book, but rather to be interpreted artistically. The narratives woven within the artwork seek to excite and educate those who engage with it.

The sculptures extend my exploration of Rhythm Writing from paintings into a three-dimensional form.