Sign Folk

Keepers of the Craft film profiles Starr Studios in Dallas

Also, forthcoming, are the Signpainter Movie and another called Faded Paint. I really enjoy these films and the things I learn from them.  They evidence pockets of activity around the world and how the craft is indeed being ‘kept’ by these protagonists.  Keep it up! [Thanks to Traditional Sign Maker Magazine for the link.]

18 Jun 2012

Five years of Ghostsigns and a new website

Today is the 5th birthday of this blog following the first ever post on 16th June 2007.  In that time, including my stints on blogger, google sites and posterous, I have uploaded 415 posts, an average of seven per month. As a birthday present I have upgraded the site to a hosted WordPress content management […]

16 Jun 2012

Ukrainian Ghostsigns: Shadows of a Forgotten Past

Areta Kovalska just added a link to this post about ghostsigns from Lviv in Ukraine to the Ghostsigns Facebook page.  It not only has some fascinating images but also some insightful observations on the meaning of these pieces of painted advertising from the former Soviet Union.  See more from Areta on the Shadows from a […]

14 Jun 2012

Film director Danny Cooke profiles David A Smith, an artist and master craftsman of exceptional talent

This fantastic short documentary by Danny Cooke pays homage to the extraordinary work of David A Smith who plies his trade in Torquay on the Devon coast.  David’s website refers to him as a “traditional ornamental glass artist”but it is clear from this film that his talents extend far beyond glass work.I caught up with the […]

8 Jun 2012

William Stage investigates some of the ghostsigns of St Louis ahead of forthcoming book

Photo: William Stage This article offers a preview of some of the material that is lined up for the forthcoming book, Ghost Signs of St Louis.  I’m very honoured to have been invited by William Stage to write a forward to this follow up to the definitive ghostsigns book and the postcard book from last […]

22 May 2012

Short film about Syracuse’s ‘Love Letter’

Via the Noon-Gun blog I came across this short film by Signpainter Movie directors Faythe Levine and Sam Macon.  It is part of the ‘Love Letter for You’ project, using large scale signpainting for artistic expression and community development. Reminds me of the Ferodo bridges in the UK, albeit much more colourful and not selling brake […]

25 Apr 2012

Dr Ken Jones’ mosaic technique for ghostsigns photography

Dr Ken Jones is a former NASA imaging expert whose work in the 1970s included digitally photographing the surface of Mars. This required the use of image ‘mosaics’, a technique which he is now applying to the more terrestrial subject of ghostsigns.Dr Jones’ work starts from a fairly simple concept of what he wants from the […]

18 Apr 2012

Ghostsigns of Winnippeg, Manitoba

Rick kindly sent me this collection of Canadian ghostsigns, including one that appears to be painted on the side of a lorry.  He gives some background: “Here are some photos I took while working on a movie call ‘The Assasination of Jesse James’ in the City of Winnippeg, Manitoba.  The City is full of these […]

15 Apr 2012

Brilliant new website: Traditional Sign Maker Magazine

Via the Signpainter Movie I came across this facinating site which profiles signwriters and has already introduced me to the beautiful world of Filete Porteño in Argentina.  Lots more good stuff to come from them no doubt…

30 Mar 2012

Graphic DNA documents the visual language of the street

I’ve recently been in regular contact with Geraldine Marshall whose project, Graphic DNA, caught my attention.  It is the topic of her PhD thesis, under the supervision of Dr Caroline Archer.  I took the opportunity, before she gets too busy, to ask Geraldine some questions at her base in the Midlands, from mine in South […]

25 Mar 2012

Hand painted wall signs and murals from Hungary

József László is an artist in Budapest, Hungary, specialising in photo-real hand painted advertising, other hand painted wall advertising and murals.  His work impressed me so I thought I’d share some of the pictures he sent me.  Some of these remind me of Colossal Media’s work, some are more like the signs I saw in Bangladesh, and […]

16 Mar 2012

Woody Guthrie’s less well known vocation as a signwriter

Frank Jump has alerted me to this interesting insight into the folk singer’s first occupation.  Is this another way in which he has influenced Bob Dylan is his line of work as a visual artist?

14 Mar 2012

Vernacular Typography interviewed by Vanishing New York

Photo: Molly Woodward, Vernacular Typography Read the interview here.  Further good news is that this project is now fully funded so expect more news in the coming months…

12 Mar 2012

Rick Janzen of Streamline Studios creates a ‘ghostsign’ from scratch

Photos: Rick Janzen This photo essay shows the various stages in recreating the effect of a ghostsign using water-based paints (the rest of the blog is worth checking out too, especially this post and this one).  This appears to be a different technique to that employed by Colossal Media at the end of this video. […]

11 Mar 2012

Faded Paint: Trailer for forthcoming signpainting documentary

The Colossal Media Facebook page recently alerted me to this trailer (see below) uploaded by Rick Janzen about a film he’s making about the declining art and craft of signwriting. This will add to the work done by the Signpainter Movie team. Faded Paint – The Vanishing Sign Painter from Rick janzen on Vimeo. You can see some of the […]

4 Mar 2012

Frank Jump on 90.7 WFUD

Great radio interview with Frank talking about his work, his book and the topic in general.  (A brief mention of this blog shortly after 12 minutes – thanks Frank!)

19 Feb 2012

Miniature Planet: Ghostsigns for Model Makers

I love this, miniature ghostsigns for use on model railways and other small scale hobbies.  This will be a welcome time saver for those who don’t have the dedication of Emmanuel Nouaillier.  That said, the extent to which they’re modelled on actual signs is difficult to gauge… There is currently a collection of 25 available […]

7 Feb 2012

The Devil is in the Detail: Emmanuel Nouaillier Masterclass

  Emmanuel Nouaillier is a French artist I admire for his attention to detail and his focus on Ghostsigns as subject matter. Below are some of his tools of the trade and a detailed exposition of his techniques can be found on this website. Absolutely fascinating as ever…

20 Jan 2012

On Air: Colossal Media Radio Interview

Following Frank’s more recent appearance I came across this radio interview with Colossal Media which I missed in February last year. The slideshow above accompanies the full story and audio download on the WNYC website.  More posts from the Ghostsigns blog about Colossal Media here, it’s great to see them going from strength to strength.

15 Jan 2012

Frank Jump on the Leonard Lopate Show

Listen to Fading Ads on the Leonard Lopate Show by Wnyc, New York Public Radio.  A 15 minute interview discussing the ‘Fading Ads of New York City’.

11 Jan 2012

The Signpainter Movie

Over the last couple of years I’ve been following developments at the Signpainter Movie project in the USA. It is an independently produced film that will chart the history and work of America’s remaining craftsmen (due for release next year). They have been diligently cataloguing their primary research interviews on their blog as they’ve journeyed […]

16 Dec 2011

Peter Hardwicke and Tracy Emin International

Videos of Peter Hardwicke painting the letters ‘N’ and ‘A’ from the Tracy Emin International shop in Spitalfields, London. Steady hand!

10 Dec 2011

Painted Ad Site

Wm Stage is back and this time he is taking his work online with the launch of his new Painted Ad website/blog. For those unfamiliar with Stage’s work then you should read a bit about his latest book, and also know that he authored the single most comprehensive volume about hand painted wall advertising back […]

10 Sep 2011

Signpainters Don’t Read Signs

Via their Facebook page, The Sign Painter Movie project alerted me to this rare, out of print book by Syl Ehr. Signpainters Don’t Read Signs is a great read and recounts umpteen anecdotes from Syl’s life as a jobbing signpainter in the USA (signwriter to those in the UK). These include incidents directly relating to […]

25 Aug 2011