This book is a massive retrospective collection celebrating four decades of work by Jim Phillips, a legendary graphic artist based in Santa Cruz, California. He is widely considered the godfather of "surf and skate" graphic art.
Unlike fine art found in museums, Phillips’ work was created for the streets, the waves, and the mosh pits. The book chronicles the evolution of West Coast counter-culture through the lens of commercial art that was anything but commercial—it was raw, loud, and technically brilliant.
No analysis of Phillips would be complete without examining The Screaming Hand (1985). Originally designed for Santa Cruz’s “Hand” series of skateboard decks, the image depicts a disembodied hand with a screaming face where the palm should be, fingers curling like claws. The hand’s “mouth” is a void of teeth; its eyes are wild and asymmetrical. Over the years, this logo has appeared on decks, stickers, hoodies, and even shoes. It has been copied, parodied, and tattooed onto thousands of skaters’ bodies. This book is a massive retrospective collection celebrating
Symbolically, The Screaming Hand represents the pain and ecstasy of skating: the hand that slams against concrete, the hand that grips the board, the hand that signals rebellion. It is also a brilliant piece of visual economy—one shape that reads as both body part and face, both human and monster. Phillips once said he drew it after a bad fall that left his palm scraped raw; the screaming face was his own. This autobiographical grit separates Phillips from corporate mascots like Tony the Tiger.
To understand Jim Phillips is to understand the concept of "fluid energy." Whether he is rendering a barreling wave, a skateboarding skeleton, or a rock band’s logo, the consistent thread is motion. The book chronicles the evolution of West Coast
In the book, Phillips’ evolution is palpable. His early surf art captures the serene, almost spiritual isolation of the "Endless Summer" era—smooth lines, warm hues, and the romanticism of the hunt for the perfect wave. But as the decades roll on, the art begins to vibrate with the intensity of the sports themselves.
Phillips possesses a rare ability to render the "splash." In many artists' hands, water is a static blue shape. In Phillips’ hands, water is a living, splintering entity. It sprays in fractal patterns, chaotic yet perfectly composed. This aesthetic became the blueprint for surf art; his iconic posters for contests and brands didn't just advertise an event, they promised an adrenaline rush. The hand’s “mouth” is a void of teeth;
While skate and surf art paid Phillips’s bills, his rock work granted him cult immortality. In 1981, he designed the cover for the Dead Kennedys’ In God We Trust, Inc. EP: a garish yellow-and-black collage of Uncle Sam, a cross, a dollar sign, and a skeleton—all rendered in his trademark clawed lettering. The punk scene embraced Phillips because his art looked dangerous, not professionally polished. He later created artwork for Motorhead’s Rock ’n’ Roll (1987), where the band’s mascot, Snaggletooth, appeared with Phillips’s signature radiant sunburst.
What makes Phillips’s rock art distinct from contemporaries like Derek Riggs (Iron Maiden) or Pushead (Metallica) is its two-dimensional flatness. Phillips rarely uses deep perspective; instead, figures crowd the foreground, often breaking through the frame. This creates a confrontational, in-your-face quality perfect for 12-inch vinyl sleeves or concert T-shirts. His lettering—barbed, drippy, or exploding—treats typography as an extension of the image, not an addition.