The Printer and the Painter

By Ken Hall

North Carolina-based painter Phillip Philbeck has been a professional artist almost his entire life. Even as far back as the second and third grade, he sold drawings of hot rod cars to classmates for $2.50 apiece. By 13, he was painting and selling original paintings. And at 23 - fresh out of college - Phil signed on with a firm that marketed and sold limited-edition prints of his work.

Since 1995, Philbeck has enjoyed a positive working relationship with his printer of choice, Colson Art Printing in Valdosta, Ga. "It was important for me to find the right printer," he said. "It had to be someone who does quality work and who I enjoy working with. Colson is both those things." And it's a good thing, because from Phillip's studio in Shelby, N.C., to Colson's offices near the Florida line, its about a 1,000-mile round-trip drive. "I don't mind at all," Philbeck said.

A few years before he found Colson, Philbeck tried a couple of other, more local printers on for size. "My previous publisher was someone who wanted to maintain total control of the pre-press process," he said, "and I just didn't like that. For me, being hands-on and involved - from proofing to sitting at the computer making sure it's right to being right there at press time - was what I wanted in a printer."

Enter Mr. Wendy Colson of Colson Art Printing, a man who's been in the printing business since 1962 and reproducing art since 1991. "That was the first year we produced a local art calendar, which we still make and distribute free of charge today," Wendy said. "One of the artists in the calendar was impressed by how we matched his original work so closely. He'd never seen such true reproduction from a printer before."

Before long, the word began to spread within the art community and business beat a path to Wendy's door. Still, he didn't respond to the call right away. "For years, we had carved a reputation as color experts for the textile industry," Colson said. "The company specialized in matching color to fabrics, such as clothing, bedspreads and drapes. But we were also open to new markets and new customers, and the artists sort of found us."

In the beginning, Colson produced art reproductions on a totally referral basis. "Sometimes we'd lose money helping an artist," Wendy said, "but along the way we made many new friends. The artists just kept coming for their reproductions, and they helped us reach a whole new level of success." Today, Colson Art Printing is a full-service art printer with customers in the U.S. and beyond. The firm advertises nationally and exhibits at trade shows like Art Expo and Decor Expo.

"Our strengths are that we can supply an artist or publisher with a wide mix of products that relate to the art industry," Colson said. "All services - including image capture in our studio - are done in-house. An artist can ship their original to us and we can produce prints on paper or other substrates, giclee prints on paper or canvas, digital files for any media, and promotional material for advertising. The beauty of it is, we control the color. All the products have consistent color quality."

Colson is smart enough to involve his artist-clients in the process, and that's what Philbeck likes. In fact, an entire division of Colson's customer service department is dedicated solely to art customers. "We want them involved," Colson said. "Their art is their life. To make sure that the colors match perfectly and the integrity of their work isn't compromised in any way is what's important to them. We want them by our side every step of the way."

Colson and Philbeck are collaborating now on Philbeck's spring release, a work titled "Secret Place." It is available as a limited-edition lithograph (28"x17-3/4") and a giclee on canvas (36"x24"). "Secret Place" is a landscape painting - Philbeck's main focus - and, like so many of his works, is evocative of another time and place. There is a nostalgic, timeless quality to Phil's art that has many loyal collectors coming back for more. Philbeck has had 36 releases; of these, 24 are sold out.

Philbeck has enjoyed success with a simple formula: paint what you know. "I grew up around these things and have an emotional connection to them," he said. "I simply know them better than anything else." Of course, it helps to be enormously talented. Philbeck has never known any other line of work but creating art, and how many painters can say that?

Art has always been an interest of Philbeck's, as far back as he can remember. "I was always fascinated by color," he said. "As a child, I'd check out books at the school library that had a colorful cover or illustrations." He also liked art books with Old Masters landscapes in them. His biggest influences were Jacob van Ruisdale, John Constable, Albert Bierstadt and Rembrandt van Rijn.

Philbeck said he prefers the look and feel of oil paints, which account for 95 percent of his work. "Oil has a full, 'meaty' quality that I love," he said. "Oil dries slowly, so you can manipulate the paint longer." His style, he said, is realism mostly, "with a small touch of romanticism here and there. I've always been that way."

To learn more about Mr. Philbeck's art, or to make a purchase, you may call (704) 487-0368. His web address is www.phillipphilbeck.net. If you are an artist looking for a quality printer, you may call Colson Art Printing toll-free at (800) 323-7280. The web address is www.colsonprint.com.

Artist Phillip Philbeck (left) has been working with printer Wendy Colson (right) for nearly ten years. Phil likes that
Wendy involves him in the pre-press process.

Secret Place by Phillip Philbeck.

Using his original painting as reference, Philbeck (left) discusses color adjustments with Colson art consultant, Wes Force, during preliminary proofing of "Secret Place".

Silent Moon by Phillip Philbeck.

Artists are always welcome to be present for their press run. Philbeck (center) 'tweaks' the printed image while (l-r) Wendy Colson, and pressmen, Jim Watts and Raymond Copeland, look on.