What started as school textbooks covered in paper bags and doodles has blossomed into a decades-long career of bold letters and iconic murals for Denver graffiti artist Jinx. An elementary school teacher and longtime artist since 1995, Jinx watched Denver’s graffiti scene evolve from its hip-hop roots into the city’s modern mural world. Now, he brings his style to commissions and classrooms.
When did you first get into graffiti?
One of my friends, Fate, is a local artist and breakdancer who got me started with the love for graffiti. He would draw all over my textbooks and I thought it was amazing. There was a big hip-hop scene and almost everybody there had their own graffiti artist name, were rapping, breakdancing or DJing – the four elements of hip-hop. When I transferred to that high school, there were a bunch of gangs there. It was either gangs or graffiti, and I chose the path of graffiti because I felt it was a little less violent.
What was the Denver graffiti scene like back in the ‘90s?
That’s kind of when it really got big here in Denver in the ‘90s. It seemed like every high school had a different crew. It also had a handful of gangs. In graffiti, we call it tag banging. It’s where graffiti artists who are part of gangs put up tags. It evolved into the more artsy, hip hop side of it. It went more into graffiti letters and characters rather than just graffitiing your gang name. But there were still a handful of crews that were more tagbangers that were kind of dangerous. You would run into them at parties and they would always want to fight, shoot or cause violence. They were the crews that I stayed away from.
Who were some of the key influencers
Emit, East, Tuke, Jher. They were a big influence in graffiti back then. They were just some of the people I looked up to as a teenager growing up and not really good at graffiti yet. I kinda had a name and would scribble on books and things like that. What inspired me was some of the original people like them.
And how would you say Denver’s graffiti scene is different now compared to the ‘90s.
It’s not as popular anymore. Hip hop in general was just different back then. The music and the four elements – graffiti, DJing, b-boying, and MCing – were really prevalent. It seemed like everybody was doing it and not as much nowadays. It just seems like it kind of faded off. There’s a lot of artists that still grasp it and continue to paint. A lot of my friends moved into a more professional side of it, like tattooing. They’ve evolved their art into tattooing and made that a career. That’s something I never really got into. Not really into needles and blood. I just like the spray paint side of it.
Graffiti was often viewed as an illegal activity. Now, there is much more commission-based graffiti. What has been gained or lost in that trade-off?
There are those that hate on commercial graffiti and the legal side of it. Some of the hardcore graffiti artists frown upon that and claim that you have to go and do trains or be active on the streets and if not, you’re not considered a graffiti artist. I feel like as you get older, it just makes more sense to try to evolve your craft into making money off of it. I’m on summer break right now from teaching and I haven’t gotten a break all summer. I’ve been busy doing commission work and CDL training and painting logos on the sides of semis. I’m thankful for that and to be able to evolve into doing what I love, but also make money doing it.
How did you find your distinct style?
Everybody kind of finds their style over the years. You start out with a bunch of junk and scribbles. From your influences, the people around you, and all the styles you see, it’s like you study your whole life and you take bits and pieces of other art that you love and culminate it into something that you really enjoy. After painting so many years, I’ve developed a letter style that is specific to myself.
Who are some of those influences for you?
id, I used to read the Source magazine. A monthly hip hop magazine, it highlighted different rappers and artists and always had a section in the middle for graffiti. I would always take it out of the magazine and hang it on my walls. Some of those artists were Ces, Seen, T-Kid, Mode 2 and a lot of the original graffiti artists from the ‘70s were some of my influences. I was fortunate to be able to join one of those crews, which is Kings Destroy (KD). It’s a crew from New York from the ‘70s, brought up by Cope 2. He came out to Denver and started a branch out here and we’re fortunate enough to represent a piece of the history through KD.
How does one join a graffiti crew?
You put in the work and don’t expect anything from it. You get invited by other artists from other crews that see how much work you’re putting into your craft. I was also in a crew of artists from high school called OAK (on a quest or one of a kind). A few of my friends like Dant and Cosmo would rap and freestyle in the commons area while we, the graffiti guys, were all sitting around drawing on our sketchbooks.
How does being an elementary teacher impact your work as a muralist? Do they ever inspire you? Do you encourage them to pursue art or specifically graffiti?
I’ve been teaching since ‘97. I inspire them to be artists anytime they’re doodling. I was a doodler when I was in school myself. I would always get my drawing book taken away because I wasn’t paying attention. I actually do murals around my school. We are the Dupont Dinos so I paint a lot of dinosaurs around the school and I have my students actually do the painting. I’m trying to influence my students to get into art and be a part of the history of the school. I’ve also been asked by the art teacher to do a graffiti class.
What’s a piece you have done that feels especially meaningful or representative of you as an artist
We painted an Aztec-themed mural. That one’s special to me because of my cultural background and my family and wife being from Mexico. The mural shows the gods from Mexico like Ketzakua and Twalak and the pyramids of Chitsanitza and Deltiquan. Another one off 6th Avenue in Calometh is all Roger Rabbit characters next to my letters. That was another one of my favorite murals.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I feel like I’m a two-faced person where I love graffiti, but at the same time, I love teaching and inspiring kids. I’ve been doing it for almost 30 years now and hope to continue teaching the future of our communities. I want to continue painting and doing graffiti for the rest of my life. I’m fortunate to be almost 50 years old and still be able to paint, whereas some of my friends from high school, who went towards breakdancing, no longer can do that. I’m glad to have chosen the craft that I can stick with for many more years.
