Sign Making

Painting and sign making techniques.

Walldogs: Murals on Main Street DVD

This is one of 17 murals produced during a Walldogs ‘meet’ in Pontiac, Illinois, in the summer of 2009. These events bring together sign artists from around the world to decorate towns and cities with colourful murals. In this case it was the home of the International Walldog Mural & Sign Art Museum and a place […]

22 Sep 2012
The signpainting of Anthony Purcell

After finding this fantastic collection of Pittsburgh ghostsigns on the Steeltown Anthem blog [Link since expired] I dug a little deeper and came across another great set of photos. These, including my favourite above, celebrate the hand-painted murals and signs of Anthony Purcell. He also has his own website and this is the Steeltown Anthem home […]

15 Sep 2012
Cover for ‘Hand Painted Signs of Kratie’

Here is a preview of the hand painted cover for the ‘Hand Painted Signs of Kratie’ book. You can also see some photos and video of the work in progress on this. Sadly when I went back to see some more painting in action I was, instead, presented with the finished piece. For a glimpse […]

10 Aug 2012
Creating the cover for Hand Painted Signs of Kratie

Today, after three weeks of checking back on an almost daily basis, I caught Kratie signpainter Chouk Rachana at work on the cover for my forthcoming book, ‘Hand Painted Signs of Kratie’. It has taken a bit of back and forth to get towards a common understanding of what I’m looking for and I think […]

7 Aug 2012
The International Walldog Mural & Sign Art Museum

Walldog is the nickname given to those that once roamed the USA painting signs and slogans on brick walls, roadside barns and any other surface capable of providing a canvass for their advertising art. The International Walldog Mural & Sign Art Museum is a celebration of their work, located in Pontiac, Illinois, The city also houses a […]

31 Jul 2012
Salisbury Ghost Sign Restoration Project

The Salisbury Ghost Sign Restoration Project is an initiative of three enthusiasts in North Carolina. They have recently unveiled their first two restorations, both for Coca-Cola signs, so I thought it was time to catch up with one of the trio, Justin Dionne to find out more about the project. Can you tell me a […]

21 Jul 2012
Derek McDonald film and interview

Another signpainter profiled on film, this time Derek McDonald of Golden West Sign Arts, one of the craftsman who worked on this year’s ‘Declaration of Independence’ campaign for Jack Daniel’s. More from Derek in this extended article from Oakland North. Is it just me or do there seem to be more and more of these […]

19 Jul 2012
Dusty Signs doing it the old way in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Lovely video about Dusty Signs‘ Dan Madsen, picked up on Typedeck where there is more information and a gallery of Dan’s images. Dan also showcases his work on Flickr and there is a detailed interview with him on the Type Archive site [Link since expired].

14 Jul 2012
Sign Painters book cover painted by Ira Coyne

The Signpainter Movie project have just released this cover design for the book to accompany the film. Hand painted by Ira Coyne (featured previously here) it has certainly whetted my appetite for the planned October launch date. Visit the project blog to read more about the book launch and current activities on the film. Looking […]

12 Jul 2012
The origins of painting on walls

I’ve become increasingly intrigued by the origins of painting on walls, and the evolution of the form over time, up to the current vogue for street art. While the walls of caves were not made of brick, they did nonetheless provide people with an early canvass for their painting. The transition from these depictions of […]

11 Jul 2012
Fuller, Smith & Turner: Chiswick Ales & Stouts

This new hand painted sign on the building housing the Union Tavern was sent to me by regular correspondent Ross Corben. It is advertising the famous Fuller, Smith & Turner brewery from nearby Chiswick and has clearly been produced to have a dated look, in keeping with some of the ‘faux’ ghostsigns discussed previously. It […]

7 Jul 2012
Flamboyant calligraphy from Luca Barcellona & Francesca Biasetton

In a slight departure from painted lettering here is a film by Marco Puccini showcasing some flamboyant examples of inked lettering using a variety of calligraphy tools. While on the subject, it is also worth checking out this film profiling master calligrapher Paul Antonio on the Guardian.

6 Jul 2012
Declarations of Independence campaign from Jack Daniel’s

Today is Independence Day in the USA. Last year, to celebrate, Jack Daniel’s worked with letter-press experts Yee-Haw Industries and the team at Colossal Media to first produce poster designs and then to scale these up into large scale pieces of hand painted advertising around New York. The videos at the end of this post […]

4 Jul 2012
Signwriter Bruce Buckley profiled in 2007 Signcraft magazine

This article about signwriter Bruce Buckley of the Chicago Sign Company is worth a read. (Thanks Andrew Cordani for this link to this page which led me to the article.) More press about the Chicago Sign Company can be found on their website and here is the home page of Signcraft magazine.

3 Jul 2012
Spirit (Ouija) Board lettering from Ira Coyne

This is one of a collection of brightly coloured Ouija boards from Ira Coyne on Faythe Levine’s blog. It appears that even spirits can swear when they want to…

20 Jun 2012
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
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
‘Graphic Design for Cities’, Where Design Meets Craft and More with United Creatives Manchester

This talk at the Sign Design Society on 7th June looks fascinating, check out some of the projects from United Creatives, home of the speaker Chris Edmunds, below. Pictured is part of The Larkin Trail. (The trail itself is on its own website.) Download the full event flyer here.

1 Jun 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
Penge Fashion House Considers Hand-Painted Signage Options

Anyone know if this and/or this have been followed through to execution?

17 Apr 2012
Is this the easiest hand lettering technique possible?

Geraldine discovered this lovely little film from British Pathe, a ‘how to’ guide for a simple block lettering form. It even doubles as a secret code…

10 Apr 2012
A Clever Twist on Hand-Made/Painted Lettering

This fascinating project explores the relationships between upper and lower case letters, and the transitions between them, using hands and paint. (Found via Creative Review.)

8 Apr 2012
Overall Murals, a New NYC Sign Painting Company

I’ve just discovered this company producing hand painted wall advertising in New York via the film below. More signwriters here.

7 Apr 2012
April and the fascinating world of fresco

A headline that started “Where there’s a wall” led me to this page (fittingly for today’s date the image is called ‘April’) and subsequently to the wikipedia entry for fresco. This is clearly an area that I will have to do more research into, especially given the global nature of the art form and the […]

1 Apr 2012