The Art of Serigraph Printing

Serigraph Prints are made one color at a time. Watch as Quarterback Joe Namath develops in 'Guaranteed Winner'. While this serigraph contains 13 colors, many of Rick's pieces contain well over 50 colors.

What is a Serigraph Print?

The origin of Serigraph Printing can be traced to the budding textile industry of ancient Japan, where the process of Silk Screening was invented. While Serigraph Printing is a much more advanced form of Silk Screening, in principle, the two are still very much alike, as the techniques are generally the same. Traditionally, Serigraph Printing and Silk Screening creates a sharp-edged image using a stencil and a porous fabric. The Japanese used screens made of silk and hair stretched over wood frames to print very simplistic stencils of floral patterns onto their kimonos. Modern "screens" are made of polyester, stretched tightly over aluminum frames.


The Japanese invented Silk Screening for decorating textiles and clothing, like this Kimono dress.

Many of Andy Warhol's most famous works were created in Serigraph form.

The Art of Serigraph Printing at the Rick Rush Studio

The Press at the Rick Rush Studio
has been creating Serigraphs in-house since 1980

In modern printing, a thin coating of light-sensitive liquid is applied to the screen and stored in a darkroom to dry. Then, a stenciled image is drawn or painted onto a transparent film or sheet, and placed onto the screen and exposed to light. Light hardens the liquid coating on the screen - thus sealing the "pores" of the screen. The area of the screen covered by the stencil is left un-exposed, however, so that once washed, the screen now has a carbon copy of the stenciled image "burned" into it.

Each of our "stencils" is painstakingly hand-painted onto transparent films, traced from a master copy of the original oil painting. The "burned" screen is placed onto our press, and locked into place above our "Master" of the Original Painting. We very carefully register the screen to the master, and can then begin our printing of the one color.

At Rick Rush studios, many of our Serigraph Prints contain over 50 colors. For a painting with 58 colors, Rick must recreate the individual elements of his original painting 58 times onto the transparent films. Due to the nature of Serigraph Printing, where colors are applied to prints by hand, one at a time - each print is a unique piece of art, and is part of a very limited edition. One of the subtle beauties of Serigraphs is the relief of the print - because each color is hand-pressed one layer at a time, and then given a day to air dry, the layers of ink begin to take shape to form a subtle "dimension" and depth to the print.

Our Guarantee

Serigraph prints are labor intensive and costly to create. It takes approximately one month to create an edition of 200 to 300 prints of original serigraphs. Every print is given a thorough inspection by Rick Rush and staff both in the Rick Rush Studio, before, during and after every single color is pressed - and at the office of Jireh Publishing, before being hand signed and numbered and mailed to your home or office. Because of our thorough work, and our strict quality control - Jireh Publishing guarantees your satisfaction.

We take pride in our product and we know that the sophisticated collector will appreciate the quality of our work. Serigraph Prints are an investment. Due to the limited edition, unique attributes, and thanks to the quality of the craftsmanship, serigraphs by many contemporary artists have commanded as much as $100,000 in auction. Rick Rush Serigraphs continue to climb in value, as well, making each of our serigraphs a beautiful addition to an art collection, a fantastic investment, and even an heirloom for future generations.

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