By CharlieBLVK
When bloodline meets grind, something special happens. I’ve been around Montana Mills long enough to see the work speak for itself. As the nephew of Richard Duardo the legendary West Coast Warhol who earned that moniker by being the first person on the West Coast to make art out of a photo of Warhol himself Montana’s putting in the work daily, building his own legacy. Duardo was a key figure in the Chicano street art movement and a master printmaker who passed those techniques down to Montana. His impact is documented in the film *Print and Die in LA*, which chronicles his role in founding the Chicano street art movement alongside Cheech Marin.
Old School Mastery
I’ve watched Montana evolve from computer prints on Japanese paper to pulling serigraphs that make the old heads nod with respect. High powered water hoses blasting away emulsion, giant industrial lights in the exposure room techniques refined over decades through the Duardo bloodline. Getting to work alongside him, you realize quick: this isn’t some nostalgia trip. This is the real deal, done right.
But Montana doesn’t just live in the past. His digital giclées are equally amazing. For those unfamiliar, giclée (pronounced zhee-clay) comes from the French “to spray” tiny droplets of pigment sprayed onto archival paper or canvas, creating fade resistant fine art with exceptional color and detail. Montana’s giclées hit that gallery level quality, bridging traditional craft with modern technology without compromise.
Big Brother Publishing and Modern Multiples
Montana founded Big Brother Publishing to continue his uncle’s vision and now champions Modern Multiples the legendary studio Richard Duardo originally built. These aren’t just print shops. They’re institutions where contemporary art becomes tangible, collectible form, bridging street culture and fine art.
The distinction matters. Montana deals in archival prints using special paper, canvas, and pigment inks designed to resist fading for decades, even centuries. These are high quality, long lasting images, often signed and numbered with certificates of authenticity that increase their collectible value. And when it comes to multiples reproducing an artistic idea across limited editions like 1/50 or 2/50 Montana’s controlling scarcity while maintaining quality, whether it’s lithographs, etchings, or serigraphs.
The Education
Working with Montana is straight-up education in the original techniques Richard Duardo used to launch careers. Banksy, Retna, Shepard Fairey, Ed Ruscha that’s just scratching the surface. Anyone serious about their prints finds their way to Montana and leaves knowing more.
What makes Montana different is his work with every street artist, young and old. He’s in the trenches helping them with stencils and prints, keeping his ear to the streets. His sense of humor and ability to teach makes the process natural he’s taking young graffiti writers into the fine art world one print at a time. He demonstrates, elevates. That’s how traditions survive and how new voices get heard.
The Facility
Walk into Montana’s workspace and you get it. Top Gun’s aircraft hangar meets Andy Warhol’s Factory. This massive space is wall to wall with art, screens, squeegees, and every piece of equipment an artist needs. Giant exposure units, industrial sinks, drying racks climbing toward the ceiling a cathedral built for printmaking where ideas become editioned artworks built to last.
The Work
Montana’s crosshair poodle logo is unmistakable quality and authenticity in one icon. But he’s not just printing for others. Right now at BLVKBOOK, we’re featuring his West Coast Warhol soup can series a direct nod to his uncle’s legacy and Warhol’s revolutionary pop art, brought home to the West Coast aesthetic Richard Duardo pioneered. Not imitation. Continuation.
We’re looking forward to doing a big event at BLVKBOOK soon with Montana Mills and his prints stay tuned.
Living the Legacy
Richard Duardo earned “West Coast Warhol” by democratizing art, bringing printmaking to communities who needed it without sacrificing quality. Montana does the same for this generation. Every day, water hose in hand, burning screens, pulling prints that’ll outlive us all.
The craft and technique passed down through Montana you won’t find it at any other print shop in LA. After watching him work all these years, one thing’s clear: Montana Mills is the real deal, keeping the tradition alive at the highest level.
Montana Mills’ West Coast Warhol soup can series is currently featured at BLVKBOOK.
