Soto / tstout Pearl Jam collab

a little about Jeff Soto and my Pearl Jam print. it is a collaboration between jeff and i. the challenge was integrating our two different styles. we decided on the playing card idea, and jeff really pushed to have it be as realistic as possible, even going as far as printing on the back, which is a first for me. we were inspired in part by rob jones dropkick murphy poster. the poster is technically a seven color screenprint, six on the front, one on the back, with die-cut rounded edges. another first for me.

jeff finished his entire part before i'd even started mine, and it really set the bar pretty high. working with an artist i have admired since college, one of the true greats, was an awesome experience.

originally, i envisioned people hanging the poster with jeff's side up, my side down, since mine is kinda 'after death, underground', his is kinda 'above ground, life.' but that's part of the magic, you can hang it either way. or you can even trim my portion off.

i had the chance to fly down to chino, california, for the day, and jeff was gracious enough to pick me and sarah up from the airport and drive us around the whole day. we signed our prints at the same time, and got to check out In House, the screenprinting shop, who do amazing work. then jeff gave us a tour of his studio, which was awesome, and a tour of chino, his hometown. all in all a great experience, highly recommended.

so that's it, that's the story behind this print. i haven't done many collaborations before but if they're all this amazing, who knows. great times were had.