About this project

What I do

I've been printing halftones and 4-color process on T-shirts since the 1980's, when it was common knowlege that you simply "couldn't do that." No one told me that until it was too late, and I was elbows deep in my first process job. Along the way, I've built a reputation as a printer of choice for photographers and artists who need quality halftone printing on their t-shirts.

I've always especially enjoyed printing black and white photographs on t-shirts because I love photography, and I enjoy the challenge of creating a quality reproduction of a photographic image, but it only very recently occurred to me that I should produce a series of my own photos as serigraphs.

I want to combine my love for photography with my obsession for the perfect screen print. I hope to present a unique vision of things captured through the lens, and transferred to print by the means I am most comfortable with and expert at. I think this combination presents itself in a way that I hope will help move the peception of the craft of t-shirt printing across the line from "commercial" to fine art serigraphy, hence the name of my new line of prints, Wearable Serigraphy.

The Project

I'm starting off the line of prints with three photographs, all scanned from 35 mm film slides and negatives. I create duotones in Photoshop that become the screen printing separations. Leakey Tombstone will print on Tan shirts, Mexican Agave will print on Lake Blue shirts, and Dune and Vine will print on Slate shirts. 

I'm serious about quality!

My choice of shirts is based primarily on how well they print, but I use several different brands in order to make color choices that best fit each design. All the shirt are 100% ringspun, combed cotton. 

The underbase is printed using discharge, which is a waterbase ink that provides a much softer feel than a traditional heavy plastisol underbase, and also provides a superior surface for the halftone print. The halftones are all 65 line, in order to provide the best detail possible. I've worked hard on capturing every single dot, all the way down to the 1% highlights.

I make all the screens myself, and I personally print, inspect, sign and number each shirt. I will retire each design at 144 prints to insure collectibility, and will refresh the line with new prints throughout the summer and fall, so check back!