‘Playing with colors’ inspires artist to create murals popping up around Olympia

Editor’s note: Tafejian’s email address has been corrected since this was first published.

After he retired from his job working for the state, John Tafejian turned his attention to making Olympia more colorful.

Since August, Tafejian of Olympia has been painting murals — assemblages of triangles in an array of colors — at a half-dozen businesses all over town, with more to come.

“I’ve always had a creative streak, just not an outlet for it,” said Tafejian (pronounced ta-FAY-jun), who didn’t really think of himself as an artist until he started experimenting with colors in his basement and garage and on a dumpster at an apartment building he owns. “This art stuff came after I retired. I just thought, ‘I’m going to start doing some painting.’

“I like playing with colors,” he told The Olympian. “Color is the key touch point for me with art. Going to see the tulips in Skagit County is like a sensory explosion, especially when it’s sunny. “

His first outside project was on a fence near his apartment building, and then he took his passion public, asking business owners if they’d be willing to give him a space to embellish.

He didn’t plan to turn triangles into his signature shape, he said. He just liked the way they fit together and showed off the colors, which he spends a lot of time planning before beginning to paint.

“The design is an interesting way to display color,” he said.

His murals can be seen at the The Pit Stop Market, 1734 Boulevard Road SE, Olympia; Gary’s Olympia Auto Service, 616 Legion Way SE, Olympia; Orca Books (where he added an orca to the triangles), 315 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia; and the food truck court at Plum Street and Fourth Avenue, Olympia.

Lisa David of Ninevah Assyrian, located at the food truck court, said she appreciates Tafejian’s efforts. He’s done two murals at the site.

“When someone is like, ‘I want to make this unattractive old gas-station garage more attractive,’ it’s like, ‘OK, twist my arm,’ ” she told The Olympian.

The murals have attracted interest from customers, David said, including Anna Schlecht, who coordinates the Olympia Downtown Alliance’s Volunteers in Paint program, which gathers people to help with painting projects.

“John burst onto the mural scene about year ago and has been painting ever since,” Schlecht told The Olympian. “His vibrant geometric work has greatly expanded our visual palette, adding breadth to our growing city of murals.”

Tafejian is at work on another project — at Oly Fab Lab and Olympia Construction at 304 Olympia Ave. NE, Olympia — and is interested in doing more. (If you have a spot that could use some brightening, email him at jtafej@gmail.com.)

While he loves having his work seen around town, the muralist is enamored of the process more than the project.

“When I get to actually painting, the time just goes away,” he said. “It’s a meditative process. You can just kind of flow with it.”

This story was originally published July 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.