His story has already been told — or so people might think.
An Indiana Memorial Union janitor by day and an artist by night, Joel Washington has received plenty of attention for the double life he leads in newspaper articles and student projects, but he said most don’t capture who he really is.
Washington just wants people to see him for his creativity.
Always dabbling in different corners of the art world, he has quietly grown from a local icon to an internationally-recognized artist whose work is being shown around the world. His pieces have been shown in London, Bangkok and will soon be shown in Cannes, France.
“I like the challenge of it,” Washington said. “I’m always trying out something different or something new style-wise or art-wise, and if no one likes it, at least I do.”
Washington’s upcoming show, called “Trip or Treat,” opened Friday at Gallery Mortgage’s Vault Gallery at 121 E. Sixth St. The show’s opening reception was 5-9 p.m. during the First Friday Gallery Walk downtown. It will be up until the end of November.
Washington loved watching horror movies when he was a kid. For "Trip or Treat," Washington recreated the monsters and creatures from movies like Frankenstein and Dracula in the 1960’s-inspired contemporary style he is known for. About 30 paintings will be shown, most of which are new.
Washington said there will also be some rock-inspired paintings and possibly some abstract pieces as well.
“It’s a psychedelic, really colorful art show,” Washington said. “It’s real tripped out.”
From animation to skateboard art to graffiti, Washington said he’s inspired by both old and new art forms. Ever since he was a child, Washington has been inspired by cartoons and cartoon artists.
The Beatles’ 1968 animated movie "Yellow Submarine" started it all for Washington when he was 11. He said he still watches the movie and each time he sees something different.
“It’s like a textbook to me,” Washington said. “I still study from it.”
Originally from Indianapolis, Washington moved to Bloomington in 1975.
“I mostly consider myself from Bloomington because if it wasn’t for Bloomington, I don’t think my art would have flourished the way it did,” Washington said. “Bloomington has so much to offer in the entertainment field. I just really hold a lot of sentimentality for Bloomington.”
Washington has many interests in the art world but he has one hobby that overlaps art and leisure: skateboards. He collects them, designs decks for them and rides them.
“I still skate,” Washington said. “When I’m going down a hill, I can still go 55 miles per hour.”
Washington also has a line of skateboards that he designs and has professionally printed and made. He said he hopes to pick this form of art up again after finishing the paintings for the "Trip or Treat" show and the commissions he is currently working on.
Washington has shown his art at the Indiana State Museum, the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok and in London’s Parallax Art Fair — Europe’s largest independent art and design fair. He said he has also been asked to show his art at an art festival in Cannes, France, that coincides with the Cannes Film Festival.
When his work was in Thailand, Washington remembered getting phone calls about how the princess of Thailand loved his work. He said experiences like these make him sit back and think about how far he’s come.
“It takes me awhile for me to let it sink in,” Washington said. “You try so hard to get where you want to be and you’ve got to stop and really look at where you’ve been and how it’s led up to where you’re going.”
John La Bella, branch manager of Gallery Mortgage, said he and Washington have both wanted to have one of his shows at Gallery Mortgage for years. Gallery Mortgage is a mortgage company that uses much of its physical office space to support local artists by having showings. La Bella isn’t sure when he met Washington because of Washington’s popularity around Bloomington.
“He’s been in Bloomington forever,” La Bella said. “Everyone knows him.”
Although Washington’s reputation may be outgrowing his town, he said the support he receives and sees others receive is something that he doesn’t want to give up.
“I’ve had a lot of good things happen with my art, but I would never really want to leave Bloomington,” Washington said.
Looking to the future, Washington said he is excited to show more of his other, less-known creative endeavors. Abstract painting is one of these.
To Washington, painting abstracts is a freeing experience.
“You can get different patterns by just swishing or swirling around that you couldn’t do if you had a steady, controlled hand,” Washington said.
The inspiration for his abstracts usually comes after he’s done with a piece, Washington said, creating the freedom to interpret later.
Although he doesn’t mind his day job, he said having virtually two jobs is tiring. He’s had nights with no sleep when the deadline for commissioned piece is approaching, and understands the exhaustion of students who study late into the night.
Washington is currently looking into hiring an agent so that he can focus less on the logistics and business side of being an artist and more on the art itself, where his passion lies.
“With anything you want real bad, it takes hard work; it takes really hard work,” Washington said. “It takes patience, but you never give up. If you want something bad enough, even when you throw your hands up and say ‘forget it,’ you can’t.”
