Fine Art Posters

Like painting, serigraphy is essentially a very simple process. The artist prepares a tightly-stretched screen, usually of silk, and blocks out areas not to be printed by filling up the mesh of the screen with an emulsion, like a stencil. Paper is placed under the screen and ink forced through the still-open mesh onto the paper with a squeegee.

Translucent and opaque color-shadows build up one on top of another, eventually coalescing into an image of luminous depth. The artist harmonizes colors like the conductor of an orchestra harmonizes sounds. You should feel a strong inner response to any print you bring into your own home. Too many artists and print makers rely on technique alone and forget that a work of art should have a soul. The real art of serigraphy is to bring the print to life.

There are two things that make a poster Great Art: (1) a simple, startling image which captures and fascinates the viewers attention (see quote at bottom of page), and (2) the actual poster must be a hand made artifact, and if you can touch and taste the paint on the paper, so much the better. Lithograph posters of the early 20th century are each original works of art, not mass produced. If you study a real lithograph closely, you will see layers of paint on the paper, not minute dots of a purely mechanical, soul-less process. This hand made quality contributes to their exceptional value and collectibility today.