Artist · Santa Cruz, California

Jim Phillips

Jim Phillips is the graphic artist behind much of the look of surf and skateboarding. Born in San Jose and based in Santa Cruz for most of his life, he won a Surfer magazine cartoon contest with a pen-and-ink "Woody" in 1961, and his surf art went on to appear in the major surf magazines through the 60s. He started out applying art to surfboards in local shops, and studied fine art on a scholarship at the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1965 and 1966.

Through the 1970s and 80s he was the sole artist and art director at NHS, drawing thousands of Santa Cruz decks, T-shirts, stickers and adverts, including the Screaming Hand and the Rob Roskopp series. In 1988 he founded Phillips Studios, training young skateboard artists to draw for NHS. His work is sold in around 80 countries today, and The Screaming Hand, NHS's 2016–17 tribute exhibition, toured 25 venues worldwide and broke attendance records at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History.

Jim Phillips

1970s (2)

1980s (5)

2000s (10)

2010s (5)

2020s (71)