After college he moved to Cleveland, OH with his wife, and began working for the U.S. Postal Service as a mail carrier. While working as a mail carrier he began to get the burning desire to make art again, realizing his dream was to create art full-time. He eventually quit this job and began his journey pursuing a career in art.
While taking this leap of faith to follow his dreams, Washington suffered a stroke in November of 2018. During his recovery, he used his art to help get through panic attacks and the numbness that he was experiencing on the right side of his body. Since surviving the stroke, he continues to take advantage of all opportunities that are presented to him, including exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, MOCA, Cleveland and Cincinnati Art Museum, among others, as well as a mural commission in Cleveland Public Square through Land Studios.
He is a 2019 recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize Verge Fellowship Award. In 2020 Washington co-founded a non-profit organization called the Museum of Creative Human Art (MOCHA) with Michael Russell, where he teaches graphic design and creates programming and partnerships with other Cleveland institutions. He currently works and lives in Cleveland with his wife Carlise and they have two children, Grayson and Luca.
Artist Statement :
My work is inspired by the black experience in America. Through drawing and painting I am focused on creating realistic story telling portraits. While creating bold colorful work showcasing the emotion of what black Americans go through on a day to day basis. The past often seems to remind us of how far we have come as a society, due to our nation’s original sin concerning racial inequalities. I have begun to tell short stories through the subjects in my artwork. While I make no attempt to change anyone’s mind on how they feel about the issues that we face in this country, I do want my creations to speak to the hearts of human beings with an open mind. Going through life as an African American man has its challenges. To bring them into my world of creativity, viewers of my work can put on my eyes and see my point of view on the subjects at hand.
