Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Garrison.
Hi Kevin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As a professional Art Director I am always looking for ways to channel my creativity into personal work. With my career demanding high production value and perfection, I have always looked to mediums that allow for spontaneity and imperfection. Early on, Polaroid and Lomography were mediums that I embraced for those reasons. I stumbled across Risograph printing by accident in 2010, while creating a moodboard on Pinterest. It was the perfect combination of analog art, mixed with digital illustration I had recently started on my iPad with Procreate. It was a way I could make my digital art physical. The colors and the process being similar to silkscreen were already something I had knowledge of from my professional life.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Yes, it’s actually been smooth for the most part. Before I knew it, I had purchased a used RZ390UI Risograph printer, discontinued in 2011, on eBay without much knowledge of what I was getting into! It came with one black ink drum. I had to “collect” other drums, one for each color, one by one, over the next decade. Then the drums started becoming difficult to find on eBay and the second-hand market, as Risograph printing started to gain popularity, and more small shops were searching for the same model drums. And with that popularity, I discovered a Risograph printing supplier in Chicago that could get drums from Japan, being manufactured new because of their renewed popularity.
Learning the process of the machine was one of working within its limitations. I love the imperfections and misregistration, and learned to design and illustrate so it worked best with the process. During those early years, I printed for artist friends, learning even more about what worked best. I now have 13 colors, including White and Metallic Gold.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work explores the beauty of things that are worn, weird, and still standing. I’m drawn to Americana, roadside relics, pop culture, and symbolic imagery that already carry history, attitude, and a little abrasion. Through bold color, layered texture, and a mix of humor and grit, I transform familiar objects and figures into visual stories about resilience, identity, and the strange poetry of everyday life. I’m interested in the tension between nostalgia and defiance — in the way old signs, icons, and overlooked objects can feel both familiar and uncanny at the same time. My work lives in that space, where the broken, the playful, and the imperfect become something memorable and alive.
Any big plans?
My goal is simple. To keep creating, keep experimenting, and continue sharing work that connects with people. I am slowly growing my art practice into a business as a source of purpose and extra income during retirement. I am currently selling my prints in over 19 markets across the US, including a museum gift shop.
Pricing:
- Risograph prints $30 each
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kevingarrison.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/risotopia/
- Other: https://www.faire.com/direct/risotopia
