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                                   PAINTING A PEOPLE’S PROGRESS
 Roederick Vines’ colorful work is perhaps as much awe-inspiring art as a mission for racial uplift. BY DEMETRIA MOSLEY
l With the gentle stroke of his paintbrush, artist Roederick Vines pours his heart and soul into each blank canvas that he sits before him.
Constantly searching for the right techniques to help transform the messages in his mind into the colorful imag- ery a part of his paintings, the Toledo, Ohio native admits the biggest critic of his work is himself. “My best painting isn’t the one I’m working on now or the one I am going to work on after that,” he explained. “With each new painting I make, I am looking for a new way to express myself that
I haven’t already explored. I see only myself as my com- petition and each new project is a way for me to become better than I was previously.
”Although the style he chooses to create his works of
art in differs, the overall subject matter touched on in most of Vines’ paintings is race. Through altered rendi- tions of the human figure and bold colors, Vines designs a world in his side of art where anyone, regardless of their race, have the same opportunities for self-advancement. “In America there’s a problem with race and I spend a lot of time with my art trying to get to the heart of the prob- lem,” he admits. “I am always searching for a way to solve the problem. I think that’s what God wants us to do.” At a young age, Vines was aware that his path in life would be a creative one. Not wanting to work a 9-to-5 like his parents, he made a pact to himself at 4 years old to focus on art. “I watched my parents go to work and come home every day and it was obvious that they weren’t happy
HARLEM FINE ARTS SHOW MAGAZINE PAGE 45
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE SUBJECT


























































































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