Paul Carpenter, of East Mt. Airy, sells his work at more than 30 fairs and festivals a year, including those in Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill, (Photo by Jordan Hayman)

by Len Lear

Paul Carpenter’s fondest memories of growing up in Springfield Township were of being close to the Wissahickon. “I've spent a ton of time in the Wissahickon. Perhaps the earliest memory I have of anything in life is playing in the creek on the lower trail by the Indian Statue,” said the 30-year-old Mt. Airy resident and one of the region’s most prolific and creative t-shirt designers.

“I grew up with three brothers and two dogs, so going for hikes in the Wissahickon was a regular occurrence.  Spending time in the Wissahickon taught me to observe and appreciate the subtle beauties of nature, the constant change of seasons and the different feelings and aesthetics that come with that seasonal change.

“It taught me to appreciate the sounds, lighting and sights of nature and how they give off a calming sensation. I could sit by the creek and listen to the water flow and the trees sway in the breeze for hours. It also taught me that taking walks in the woods was a lot of fun.

“Once we were in high school, it became a favorite spot to hang out in at night. Let's be honest, there was NOTHING to do in Springfield, so the Wissahickon provided a great place to go at night on the weekends and just hang out and talk and laugh.

“When I was older, it was skateboarding around town, meeting other skateboarders and finding new spots to skate at. We would make skate tapes with a hand-held camcorder and edit them together, showcasing the tricks we pulled off and infusing it with scenes of us goofing off.”

Carpenter graduated from Springfield Township High School in 2003. He has very fond memories of an art teacher, Chris Houston, who was “not only good at teaching the technical aspects of creating art, but he also made class fun. He would bring in his guitar and play for us. He taught more than art; he taught us about life, life skills and social situations.”

Paul was also a talented wrestler in high school who played in a garage punk band with his friends. He recalls that “skateboarding and TV shows like the Simpsons introduced me to ways to be an artist without dealing with the pretensions of art galleries and the art elite, critics and snobs alike. It showed me that art could be fun and not so damn serious.”

In 2007 Paul graduated from the University of Delaware with a BFA in Painting and Illustration. He was inspired by some magazine ads, covers of videotapes, posters, album art. etc. “I decided that illustration would be something that not only would be fun but that I could do physically with success into my old age.”

After college Carpenter worked at the Delaware beaches —Lewes, Rehoboth and Dewey. He got a job right out of school making designs for a surf skate and snowboarding shop/company, and they bought a screen printing press for Paul to start producing all of their private label apparel. He taught himself how to use the press and would draw the designs by hand and then print them by hand onto t-shirts, tanks, hoodies, etc.

After a few years of that, he moved back to Philly to get more exposure for his work. He lived in East Falls for four years and in Mt. Airy for the last four years.

“I always knew I wanted to be in Mt Airy because of its proximity to the Wissahickon, mature tree-lined streets, how many people have gardens and take pride in their landscaping, the beautiful Wissahickon schist that's built into the amazing architecture of the buildings, the cultural diversity … ”

Paul now works full-time as a freelance illustrator and print-maker. He sells at more than 30 street fairs and festivals yearly, including the Chestnut Hill Fall for the Arts and Mt. Airy Day. “To me, it seems more real because you don't rely on a middle man to panhandle your work and take a commission, and it's not pretentious like some gallery settings.” (He also has an online store and is in 6-8 boutiques around town.)

Paul created this design for the Crooked Hammock Brewery in Lewes, Delaware.

In addition to his t-shirts, Paul wants “to create children's books and to get more mural work. I want to wake up every day and just focus on creating art, not building and maintaining a business. The hardest thing I've ever had to do was learn to ask for what I'm worth and invoice people and to keep organized business records.

“I went to school to learn how to draw and paint and was never taught anything about professional business practices. After school I literally was a 22-year-old kid with a printing press that I did not know how to use in a garage at a beach and a business coming my way without any legitimate business structure.

“The best advice I ever received was more a learning lesson than advice. I completely screwed up a print job for the Rehoboth Beach Chamber of Commerce and in the same week printed a spelling mistake on 100 hoodies for another business. Hoodies are WAY more expensive wholesale than tees, by the way, and I had under $1000 to my name at the time.

“I was terrified to answer calls or deal with it at first, but then I owned up to it, admitted the mistakes were mine, paid for new material and put the time in to correct the mistakes to the best of my ability. And it felt REALLY good to take responsibility and do what I could to fix the problem I created as opposed to dodging blame and not taking accountability.”

Paul resides with wife Kate and their dog, Burt. In his spare time he loves to garden, both vegetable gardens and landscaped ornamental gardens. And he is an Eagles’ season ticket holder.

For more information, visit paulcarpenterart.com.