[ pinball plunger snaps ]
(Joe Nix) Pinball went from a therapeutic thing ‘til now.
I still play, but like, I can't escape pinball, it’s like always there for me.
It's like one of my favorite things.
Not to mention, every pinball game is a work of art.
They're made by artists.
Pinball rules over video games any day.
Yeah, I'm also a painter and an artist that plays pinball and likes to ride
mopeds to where the pinball is after I've been painting all day.
How's that?
♪♪
I grew up around a lot of industrial Seattle areas.
Like my father was a engineer at Boeing and was also
a Foss tugboat owner in his spare time, like working on giant motors,
which kind of made me gravitate towards a love of machinery and how things work.
♪♪
It’s crazy. You look at a carburetor
or a car motor or any type of motor and you're like, how does all this work?
When I started getting into moped motors, I'm taking apart of these motors myself
and I'm learning how combustion and ignition and electricity
and fuel and all this stuff comes together to work.
There's also just the aspects of like hard objects and like how this
the light hits them.
♪♪
I like to photograph a lot with my phone or with my camera.
If I'm inspired, I'll photograph like what's around me, which is mostly
hard, shiny surfaces or different types of machine parts.
I'll just make a collage and then I'll paint in the collage
or add different elements of painting and abstract
and graphic design.
♪♪
I sketch it out on the paper slowly and confidently,
and then I just leave sketching very minimal just to put the shapes up.
And I just stare at my design while I paint.
It's 2024.
I'm not trying to like, you know, hide it, my art secrets.
I think like any technology that's out should be utilized.
The murals are something
I've been doing for a long time, like 20 years at least now.
And it's almost the same exact process as my canvases.
You know, obviously, murals are huge.
[ Engine rumbles ]
[ Lift beeps ]
So you have to deal with like a lift and permits.
You're going to get hit with weather.
[ Spraypaint sprays ]
[ Spraypaint can rattles ]
I plan out the colors strategically.
So, you know, when I go to pick paint, it's kind of all in front of me.
And I know the process so well of like how to get colors on the wall
to complement each other and give the artwork depth.
Whether you're getting paid a lot or a little like you want your mural
to last throughout time, you know, you bless the wall with your art.
You want it to last as long as possible.
[♪♪]
Jupiter has like a little bit of everything.
There's tons of awesome people, fun games to play.
There's over 50 games.
[ Game voice says Moonwalker ]
[ Games click, buzz, and chime ]
The idea behind it in
the beginning was like, it's definitely an art bar, first and foremost.
Like the arcade itself has eight murals.
Every mural in this place is amazing because it's done by people that are
passionate, that are professional artists, that we've all known each other forever.
Belltown is super important to my growth as an artist.
I didn't know I was an artist until I got to Belltown
and was around that, and so I owe a lot to that neighborhood.
It's tragic what's happened down in Belltown
because they've allowed all of our institutions to just be leveled.
All the community that's left just gravitated towards new spots.
And that's what's kind of crazy about me owning Jupiter is like
it's the continuation of that part of Belltown,
which is artwork and music and community.
And so that's why Jupiter is so important.
[♪♪]
Painting art
definitely helps me to stay grounded and keeps me going and makes me happy.
I'm not doing this to be cool or somebody.
It's more like I just do it because I have to.
[♪♪]
I think it's important to have art
because it gives you a choice to have a feeling about something.
You look at a blank wall and or an ad or something.
You don't have a choice.
Art is beautiful because it gives you a choice to feel something
and have an opinion about it.
[♪♪]
Keep up with Joe
at joenix.net and learn more about his establishment,
Jupiter Bar, at jupiterbarseattle.com.
Catch Art Zone Friday
nights at eight and anytime online at SeattleChannel.org/ArtZone.