Paul Imagine is about as DIY as they come in Sacramento. A self-taught screenprinter and longtime rock poster artist, Imagine can often be seen at Peets Coffee on J Street sketching poster ideas, each sketch taking anywhere from three to eight hours to draw. His posters and flyers that he distributes on foot around town can take up to 16 hours for him to produce between drawing, screening and printing, and selling his work pays for little beyond what it takes to produce it.

Imagine’s labor of love will gain recognition in Tuesday night's screening of American Artifact, a documentary tracing what it refers to as America's 21st century "rock poster art movement" from the '60s to the present.

The film is directed and produced by Merle Becker, who runs Freakfilms Inc. out of New York City. Becker, self-described as an “obsessive music fan,” began working on American Artifact in 2005, traveling across the country and interviewing over 30 rock poster artists from different eras, including Imagine.

"It is my hope that this film causes people to see this 'lowbrow' art in a different way: as beautiful pieces of art that are also valid statements about the cultural changes that America has seen through the years," Becker said.

Consisting of intricate lines shaping teeth-baring creatures, flames, skulls and heeled-ladies, Imagine’s posters are easy to recognize in local stores.

“I just draw crazy things," he said. "Like I always say, a skull will fit with every punk rock band pretty much.”

Born into a military family in France, Imagine's family moved between Okinawa and Georgia before finally settling down in Fair Oaks when Paul was in fifth grade. Paul's introduction to art began early on as he saw his mother painting regularly.

"I've drawn for as long as I could remember," Imagine said. "I drew as a kid. I drew all through high school instead of taking notes and studying."

After his “metalhead” phase in high school, Imagine got caught up in the punk rock scene and noticed, “Holy crap, everyone’s doing everything themselves!”

Around the age of 18 he began going to punk rock shows and developed a deep appreciation for the creativity of the underground DIY movement happening around him.

"Growing up in the '80s I always loved the flyers on the telephone poles and all the punk rock show flyers, which were all just photocopied," Imagine said.

Imagine began making local concert flyers of his own using his drawings in the mid-'90s. A naturally “handy” kind of guy, uninspired by the idea of a traditional career, he worked jobs building office furniture and later in construction to make ends meet.

Imagine eventually decided that he wanted to silkscreen his drawings onto T-shirts and walked into a local screenprint shop, asking, "What do I need to print on shirts?" Experimenting with the materials he bought, Imagine taught himself how to screenprint and created a screenprinting space in his basement.

Shortly thereafter, Imagine attended the Rock Poster Revival in San Francisco, where he met rock poster artists such as Chris Shaw, Chuck Sperry, Ron Donovan and Lee Conklin.

Inspired to make rock art posters himself, he revisited the screenprint supply store in Sacramento and asked, "What do I need to print on paper?"

Imagine remembered making his first silkscreened poster for a show with the Supersuckers, Ding Dang and Angora Machine Gun around 1999 or 2000.

He participated in the first of the FLATSTOCK concert poster series in San Francisco in 2002, coordinated nationally by artists and supporters on the increasingly popular gigposters.com.

“I think we had 60 artists and it was crazy," he said. "All the different poster artists were kind of amazed that there’s that many people doing the same thing at the same time. Now there’s FLATSTOCKs all over the world.”

Among favorites Imagine has made rock art posters for the likes of new wave band DEVO and '80s hardcore band the Freeze.

Imagine continues to show his posters at the FLATSTOCKs at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas and in Seattle every year. Each August, Imagine organizes and hosts Rock Art Revulsion in Sacramento, featuring work of various rock poster artists as well as his own. Imagine also participated at a showing at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

His art is shown in the 2004 book Art of Modern Rock by Paul Grushkin and Dennis King, featuring the work of over 300 rock poster artists, and Grushkin’s book Rockin’ Down the Highway, a homage to cars and rock 'n' roll.

Imagine and his wife Eve were at the world premiere of American Artifact Saturday in San Francisco. They will also be present at the Sacramento screening of American Artifact at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Crest Theatre. A Q&A session with the film's director and the poster artists will follow the film.

“I hope it sells out," Imagine said. "Hopefully Sacramento comes and represents."

The film is also scheduled to show in New York, Denver, Detroit and Milwaukee.

For more information on the film, screenings and the rock poster artists, visit this link.

Photo credit: Image 6 courtesy of Freakfilms Inc., all other photos by Jenn Walker.