Amos Kennedy became an artist in an unusual way. At age 40, he left his corporate, white-collar job and secure middle class life to pursue a passion for printing, took to wearing overalls, and learned to live on an artist’s salary. He prints posters for The People, keeping the message clear and the price affordable. His work ranges from the inspirational to the informative, often creating and printing work for festivals and events. In 2008, filmmaker Laura Zinger directed “Proceed and Be Bold,” a documentary about Amos Kennedy and his non-traditional path into the art world.

“Perfect is the Enemy of Great” has become something of a mantra around the studio since that first poster, purchased at Southern Makers, (and which we shared here a few weeks ago) found its way onto the wall. We immediately knew we needed more and wanted to share this resonating thought with our readers.

Amos prints exclusively on 12 1/2” by 19” chipboard on one of his classic printing presses, including a Vandercook, Asbern, and Heidelberg. He mixes paint by sight and designs are created “at the press.”

Trust and belief is of the utmost importance when dealing with the artist, as Amos’ website states:

“Printing is what we do. You send the text and a check, and go home and pray. We do not know what will happen until we are at the press. The design of your poster is determined in real time. Sometimes we produce beautiful posters and at other times we produce BEAUTIFUL posters.”

Though originally established in Alabama, Amos has moved his production to Detroit. By using indiegogo to crowd source, he raised enough money to establish The Detroit Printing Plant. A video introducing the campaign is still live and worth a watch, if only to experience his wonderful sense of humor.

Our posters are printed in silver with a faint pattern of the state of Alabama’s silhouette and overlaid in black with the words, “Perfect is the Enemy of Great,” as shown here. Each poster is signed by the artist and numbered. This design is a limited edition print.