Phil Garrett studied at the University of South Carolina and the Honolulu Academy of Arts before earning a BFA at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1974. He lived and worked in the Bay Area until 1979, when he returned to South Carolina, where he has lived since. He founded King Snake Press in 1998. Blues Haiku represents something of a departure for him. The seven linocuts in the series refer to and honor Piedmont blues artists and their songs.