#signpainting
New at bl.ag online: 'Reverse Glass Gilding Processes in an Informative Video Overview'.
https://bl.ag/reverse-glass-gilding-processes-in-an-informative-video-overview/
Now reading 'Typ.ologies: Reframing Ireland’s vernacular letterform through the lens of heritage'.
https://infodesign.org.br/infodesign/article/view/1095
"The study seeks to construct a case for preserving, promoting, and advocating for vernacular letterforms and the traditional craft of signwriting."
#signwriting #signpainting #Ireland #lettering #heritage #letterform
Hand-Painted in LA: Some Los Angeles Signs by Bryan Yonki is now available from the BLAG shop.
https://shop.bl.ag/products/signs-of-la
The book features an extraordinary diversity of painted signs for businesses of all kinds, with English- and Spanish-language signs sitting side by side throughout.
It is one to look through, and return to, and will no doubt take on increasing significance as more and more of the signs within are lost without pause for thought.
New at bl.ag online: 'Sign Painting in the Sun: Benelux Letterheads 2023'
#signpainting #signwriting #letterheads #ioafs #benelux #brussels
New at bl.ag online: 'Chain Letter: Serge Nidegger, Lowrider Sign Co.' with Serge Lowrider sharing the inspiration he's taken from this Parisian palimpsest.
Visit https://bl.ag/chain-letter-serge-nidegger-lowrider-sign-co/ to see the whole sign, and more details of the layering of graffiti and hand-painted lettering on it.
#signpainting #signwriting #lettering #graffiti #sign #palimpsest #ghostsign #ghostsigns
It's print day for BLAG 04, shipping to members next month.
It's the first time the magazine has had a spine, in its new expanded 80-page format. And, just like mastodon, none of them are filled with advertising.
Visit https://bl.ag/md20 for a special offer to join today, get this, plus Issue 03, delivered to wherever you are in the world.
New at bl.ag online: 'ABC (Always Be Copying): Reproductive Power from Mexico'.
https://bl.ag/abc-always-be-copying-reproductive-power-from-mexico/
In this guest post, Robert J. Kett shares the work of RRD (Red de Reproducción y Distribución / Reproduction and Distribution Network) and their involvement in the current Palm Springs Art Museum exhibition, Eso es la Vida/This is Life: Graphic Design from Mexico.
#signpainting #graphicdesign #lettering #mexico #print #publishing #zine
'Sign Painters Do It in One Stroke' is this week's BLAG Demo. It's an opportunity to watch, learn from, and interact with Kenji Nakayama and Peter Liedberg as they paint and talk about single-stroke lettering.
The online event starts at 21:00 UTC on Friday, 10 November, with more details and tickets available via https://bl.ag/sign-painters-do-it-in-one-stroke-with-kenji-nakayama-and-peter-liedberg/.
@typophrenic Sign painters are also rarely found in paintings, but I do have a small collection, including this one, c.1910, by Erik Henningsens.
The picture features in the book, Fra Penselstrøg til Print: Skiltefagets Historie (From Brushstrokes to Print: The History of Signs), by Bent Grølsted—I only wish I could read Danish to enjoy more than just the pictures!
#signpainting #signwriting #signpainter #signwriter #painting #Copenhagen #Denmark
📽️ Recordings from the talks, studio visits and demonstrations at last month's BLAG Meet are now online: https://bl.ag/blag-meet-inside-issue-03/
Pictured are:
1. @stewf and @Keltroughton with @letterformarchive's Ross F. George collection.
2. Bob Dewhurst talking about making a living as a freelance sign painter.
3. Chris Raley at Route 9 Signs sharing his miniature signs and process.
4. Halfstudio giving a studio tour and discussing how their work has evolved over time.
Première 1/2 journée de formation, c'était génial ! On est claqués, mais on a hâte de voir la suite.
🎨🖌
Au programme :
- Découverte des outils du peintre en lettres
- Apprentissage des mouvements de pinceaux et mise en peinture de lettres bâtons, casual et script
- Création d’un panneau avec au moins 2 styles de lettres
- Compositions, ombres, effets
Levé 5h pour être à Montparnasse à 6h30, ça pique un peu là 😵
J'ai amené un peu de lecture pour le voyage ! @betterletters
Nice piece here on a sign writer in Scotland: https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/education/schools/4682434/frank-oates-strathallan-signwriter/
Honours boards are a niche within the realm of sign painting. While an overall consistency is maintained, it's often possible to see when the craftsperson changed over the decades/centuries.
They are usually lettered in a size (specialist varnish) before applying gold leaf. The boards themselves may have been given their appearance by graining; applying a faux finish to cheaper timber.
🚄 Strasbourg → Paris → Lorient → Quimperlé
Trop hâte d’arriver en Bretagne demain avec ma compagne pour suivre 5 jours de formation en peinture en lettres auprès de la talentueuse Morgane Côme !
Parce que bon, même si j’adore faire des sites web, disons que je commence doucement à réfléchir à ce que j’aimerais faire dans 5–10 ans, quand j’en aurai ma claque d’être assis 8h par jour devant un ordi… 👨💻 Pas vous ?
Bit by bit the past disappears. This little building in my town is gone now; I always enjoyed passing it. By the lettering style I'm guessing #1950s?
#Lettering #Signs #SignPainting #Typography #HandLettering
BLAG 04 is now in layout, and I'm working through final copy checks in the new expanded 80-page format.
It goes to print in a week, when this will be in colour, followed by shipping to members in December.
Visit https://bl.ag/join to sign up for the adventures in sign painting, or https://bl.ag/md20 for a special introductory offer, which includes Issue 03 in print and digital access to back issues BLAG 01 and BLAG 02.
Apartment signs of the Grand Lake neighborhood, Oakland, CA.
#Lettering #Signs #SignPainting #1950s #1960s #Oakland #LakeMerritt #GrandLake
Here's a relatively niche slice of some of the brilliant collection at the American Sign Museum: https://bl.ag/signkits/
I was very lucky to visit in 2015, within the context of this road trip: https://bl.ag/better-letters-circus-northeast-tour-fall-2015/
Exciting developments in Cincinnati as the first swathe of Signs of the Times magazine are made available to read online.
The originals are from the collection of the brilliant American Sign Museum.
Those uploaded currently cover the period 1906–19, with later years slated for scanning and uploading in the future.
The next BLAG Event online is a conversational demonstration with Kenji Nakayama and Peter Liedberg.
They'll be showing, and discussing, their practice of single-stroke lettering in the context of sign painting.
Attendees can also put questions directly to the pair.
https://bl.ag/sign-painters-do-it-in-one-stroke-with-kenji-nakayama-and-peter-liedberg/
On Monday I'm sending out my regular round-up of sign painting and lettering events and exhibitions. This features online, hybrid, and in-person happenings from around the world.
It's free to receive these emails and stay informed via https://bl.ag/join.
Submissions are also welcome via https://bl.ag/submit
#signpainting #signwriting #event #eventlisting #lettering #graphicdesign #type #typography
'The Pittsburgh Portfolio of the H.H. Seiferth Sign Company'
This remarkable photographic archive contains the output of one sign firm in the first 30 years of the twentieth century. I have edited a selection for presentation at bl.ag online.
Thank you to Christian Shaknaitis for telling me about the archive, and to the Detre Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center for permission use the images.
The Frasher Foto Postcard Collection https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt6s2019xp/ hosts over 5,000 picture postcard views of California and the Southwest taken by Burton Frasher in the 1910s–1950s. Among the many shots of landscapes and people are street scenes, offering a time-travel tour of early 20th-century American signmaking.
Tucson, AZ, 1938 https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt1199p910/?layout=metadata&brand=oac4
Randsburg, CA, 1934 https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt600018mv/?layout=metadata&brand=oac4
#SignPainting #Lettering #1920s #1930s #1940s #Arizona #California #NewMexico #Nevada #Utah
I think I've gone a bit too far with my next bl.ag online article, coming to my free email list (https://bl.ag/join) on Thursday. But it'll be worth it!
It started when someone sent me a photographic archive from a single Pittsburgh sign firm. It dates from the early twentieth century, and contains an immense diversity of work.
In addition to the lettering, there is gilding, pictorial work, enormous banners, and showcards.
Stay tuned for more...
'Copyright and Licensing: A Brief Guide for Sign Painters' is the latest free article at bl.ag online: https://bl.ag/copyright-and-licensing-a-brief-guide-for-sign-painters/
#copyright #licensing #signpainting #signwriting #aoi #aiga #goodtype
My latest column for Signlink is a tribute to Dapper Signs' James Cooper (RIP). It can be read online from page 32 here: https://www.signlink.co.uk/archives/SLOctNov2023/index.html
They then decided to fill the cover with his work 😍
Now at bl.ag online, 'Getting Into It: New Bohemia's Modern Twist'
This is one of the examples in Gustavo Ferrari's column from BLAG 03 (https://bl.ag/03), which is a step-by-step guide to painting acanthus leaves.
He'll be building further on this during his demonstration at Saturday's free online event (https://bl.ag/bm03), alongside a host of other talks, interviews, studio visits, and demonstrations.
#fileteadoporteño #fileteado #signpainting #signwriting #gustavoferrari #freeevent #onlineevent
On October 7 (this Saturday!), @blag will host a free online event titled “BLAG Meet: Inside Issue 03”: https://bl.ag/bm03.
Join and meet some of the contributors to BLAG 03 via talks, interviews, studio visits, and demonstrations – including @Keltroughton and our own @stewf, who will provide a glimpse into @letterformarchive’s Ross F. George collection.
Speaking of octagonal wood typefaces with round counters:
The #masthead of Better Letters #Magazine @blag is based on Gothic Paneled as shown by Wm. H. Page & Co. in 1874. The letterforms were redrawn by Utile studio, who also designed the magazine using @kontour’s Utile and Dalton Maag’s Aktiv Grotesk. BLAG is “the world’s only print and online publication dedicated to #SignPainting”.
More: https://fontsinuse.com/uses/50139/blag-better-letters-magazine #FontsInUse #typography #fonts #woodtype
The final line-up is now confirmed for Saturday's free online event, BLAG Meet: Inside Issue 03: https://bl.ag/bm03.
Please join us, and meet some of the contributors to BLAG 03 via talks, interviews, studio visits, and demonstrations.
This is the first time I've tried something like this connected to the magazine, but I imagine it being similar to 2020's Lockdown Letterheads: https://bl.ag/lockdown.
We kick off at 16:00 London time: https://bl.ag/bm03.
It doesn't look like much now, but that's Issue 04 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine) at the back after final copy edits.
I'm excited that this is going to be 16 pages bigger than the previous issues, which also means a spine for the first time.
And it'll be the first time that our adventures in sign painting touch down on six continents.
BLAG 04 ships to members worldwide from December, and Mastodon friends can join for a special rate at https://bl.ag/md20.
Next Sat, Oct 7, I’ll be joining other contributors to @blag Issue 03 for a full day of talks and demos bringing the magazine to life online! https://bl.ag/blag-meet-inside-issue-03/
Catch my “Ross F. George / Speedball at @letterformarchive” segment around 12:45pm PT (20:45 GMT).
These are a few details from the hand-written memoirs of Leeds sign painter, Arthur Gill. (Not believed to be related to Eric.)
Arthur Gill was working in the first half of the 20th century and wrote his 150-page autobiography in 1969, aged 81.
I edited together the sections that pertain to his sign painting work, and have had these recorded by voiceover artist Ian Brennan.
These recordings are now being serialised at https://bl.ag/gill.
12 years ago, via the Sign Painters movie/book project, I learned about and bought a copy of 'Signpainters Don't Read Signs' by Syl Ehr.
The book is a rare first-person account of life as a sign painter, in this case from someone working in Portland, Oregon, in the 1950s.
The book has been almost impossible to buy for some time, so last year, I scanned and transcribed my copy. The results of this were/are published online at https://bl.ag/sdrs ($).
🧵
Sign Painters of Pernambuco — Ten Years Later
Fátima Finizola reflects on her work profiling the sign painters in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the latest bl.ag online article.
https://bl.ag/sign-painters-of-pernambuc-10-years-later/
Fátima will present more of her work in today's (23 Sep) free online event, Brazil's Letter Openers: https://bl.ag/brazils-letter-openers-with-fatima-finizola-and-fernanda-martins/
#signpainting #signwriting #signpainters #signwriters #Pernambuco #Brazil #letteropeners #lettering
I've just sent out my periodic round-up of sign painting and lettering events and exhibitions to email subscribers.
It's free to get these in your inbox via https://bl.ag/join, and I maintain the listings at https://bl.ag/eventlistings.
Pictured is a photo from the Benelux Letterheads meet that I attended earlier this month.
#signpainting #signwriting #lettering #event #eventlistings #letterheads #ioafs
This weekend I'm hosting a free, online event profiling #signpainting traditions in #Brazil.
https://bl.ag/brazils-letter-openers-with-fatima-finizola-and-fernanda-martins/
'Brazil's Letter Openers' is a BLAG Chat with designers and #typography researchers Fátima Finizola and Fernanda Martins.
They will share their work documenting and celebrating the work of Brazil's abridores de letras (letter openers, or #signpainters). This will include an exclusive screening of the documentary film, Marajó das Letras.
Some top-notch hand-painted signs from Haridwar, India, in today's despatch from @matratype
Read it, and subscribe yourself, here: https://us12.campaign-archive.com/?u=00db3d2423772a3f86d6e22a1&id=e308aecb63
@gaelchlo Are you familiar with the work of Kevin Freeney?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gentlemanofletters/albums
He is one of the #signwriters profiled in the #signwriting chapter of Dublin's Vanishing Craftsman by Kevin Corrigan Kearns.
https://archive.org/details/dublinsvanishing00kear
(Only learned writing this reply that @internetarchive has the book in their collection.)
Issue 02 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine) is now available in digital form to read online.
Visit https://bl.ag/02.
#blag #betterletters #magazine #signpainting #signwriting #lettering
Thank you Steven Heller for this feature on BLAG (Better LettersMagazine): https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/the-daily-heller-handpainted-signs-has-a-brand-new-blag/
#signpainting #blag #magazine #signwriting #stevenheller #dailyheller #print #printmagazine
Sending all the #FollowFriday energy to these #art and #photography accounts:
@ACo - director of @BNUStrasbourg
@blag - capturing #signpainting, signs as art
@mhaustria - expert on the #wetcollodion process #analogphotography
@ObsidianUrbex - #urbanexplorer who chronicles #abandonedplaces and decay
New at https://bl.ag/chuck: 'Meet Chuck Keiger, Sam Caldwell's Cincinnati Walldog'.
This latest post at bl.ag online tells the story of the man that painted the giant Sam Caldwell sign (now ghost sign) in Cincinnati. The piece was written by Chuck's son, and originally appeared in Cincinnati Magazine.
#signpainting #signwriting #cincinnati #ohio #signpainter #signwriter #walldog
Does anyone know the full text, and context, for this sign being painted/signed by Salvador Dalí?
It is from a photo in the room detailing his development of what is now the Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain. This would date it to the early 1970s.
The last line is likely "ministerio de la vivienda" (ministry of housing).
#SalvadorDali #dali #signpainting #signwriting #DaliTheatreMuseum #rótulo #rotulista
@litherland Within the realm of #signpainting, unions have had an important role in professional development, quality control, health and safety, working conditions, and pay. However, I have not done a lot of research and will follow replies to your post with interest.
My hunch is that today, it is considered less important to be 'union' compared to even quite recent history.
The story of the relevant union in that field can be found here: https://www.iupat.org/about-us/our-history/
Can anyone offer any fruitful direction for this enquiry I've received?
"I'm in my final year at university and engaged in a project focused on Thai lettering, script, and sign painting. I'm reaching out through this email to inquire whether you might have any resources pertaining to Thai ghost signs (which I am currently in the process of collecting)."
cc @ohbendy
#Thai #Thailand #ThaiScript #ghostsigns #lettering #signpainting
@franciscawrites @bookstodon This is a favourite on a #signpainting theme.
An old facade advertisement in Valby, Copenhagen
#GhostSign #GhostSigns #Valby #TypographyInTheWild #SignPainting #Mural
![A facade of a ca. 5 storey brick house with an advertisement painted blue with white narrow sans serif text in all caps. In the bottom left corner is an illustration of a hand holding 6 playing cards, 4 of which are aces.
The Danish text says:
“Er De forsikr[et] [hos] Fjerde Sø af 1863, har De gode Kort paa Haanden”
Translated:
“Are you insured by Fjerde Sø of 1863, then you have a good hand of cards”](https://media.mastodon.cloud/cache/media_attachments/files/110/916/318/563/564/335/small/5561a098f7539514.jpg)
I had the honor of visiting St. Hieronymous Press today (RIP David Goines). Spotted these two signs (above and below STOP) and knew instantly it was Downer.
#SignPainting #DavidGoines #JohnDowner https://flic.kr/p/2oUWjAz
Nice S on the asphalt in a parking lot. Never seen one quite like this, especially on the road. https://flic.kr/p/2oV2NnY
"To be frank, it’s just a better product. Hand painted looks better – it’s got character, it’s got soul."
Quote from the interview with Smart Casual Signs, talking about #signpainting and #gilding in Perth, Western Australia: https://perthisok.com/eat-drink/foodie-feasts-and-family-fun-in-broome-shinju-matsuri-returns-this-august/
Photo: Luke Sargon, Sargon Studios, at Bosuns Barbershop in Fremantle.
Thank you, Mr. Clark, for hiring a good painter for this handsome, understated sign many years ago. Thank you, whoever occupies this building now, for keeping it up and in good repair. What a script.
The property is now for sale. Let’s see if the sign survives. #SignPainting #Signs #Scripts #Lettering https://flic.kr/p/2oTV63f
While working on the Mr Masking book, Pupila got him to paint a full character set in his distinctive style.
If anyone is interested in turning this into a functional #typeface for the benefit of his surviving family then please let me know.
Alternatively, you can contact Alfredo at Pupila directly via the email address given on today's post about Mr Masking and his work: https://bl.ag/the-magic-of-mr-masking-costa-ricas-king-of-tape/
#mrmasking #type #typography #font #signpainting #signwriting #lettering #typedesign
'The Magic of Mr Masking, Costa Rica's King of Tape' is today's despatch from bl.ag online: https://bl.ag/the-magic-of-mr-masking-costa-ricas-king-of-tape/
The feature looks back at the work of Mr Masking (aka Gerardo Picado, RIP) and the typographic vernacular he created in San José.
Thanks to the work of Pupila, a branding and graphic design studio, Mr Masking's legacy lives on in film, print, and photography.
#signpainting #sigwnriting #lettering #type #typographic #typography #sanjose #costarica #maskingtape #mrmasking
@matratype @nicksherman I have some spreads in my book, Hand-Painted Signs of Kratie, that are very similar to those arrays.
(Kratie is a provincial capital in north-east Cambodia, located on the Mekong river.)
There is a free download of the ebook available here: https://ghostsigns.co.uk/kratie. That page also has a Khmer translation of the full text.
#kratie #cambodia #signs #signpainting #signwriting #pictorial #illustration
My motivation for starting Better Letters in 2012 was to raise awareness of hand-crafted, and specifically hand-painted, #lettering among those that commission #signs.
This continues to be a factor in the work I do, championing #signpainting / #signwriting in various ways.
On my recent #ghostsigns walks in London, this #sign, about a year old, offered up excellent evidence of vinyl's weakness in the context of shopfronts.
Hand-painted signs often improve with age, versus this...
@nicksherman @matratype I'll add these pictorials from painted shopfronts in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam.
Some of the full fascias are on this page: https://bl.ag/painted-signs-in-vietnam/
#signpainting #machinery #pictorial #illustration #shopfront #Vietnam #MekongDelta
I can’t resist shooting this perfect sign every time we pass through Winnemucca.
#Signs #SignPainting #Neon #Nevada #Winnemucca https://flic.kr/p/2oRPagX
@Luke keep your eyes open on the streets too:
https://bl.ag/amsterdam-lettering-with-edd-the-dutch-sign-painters-guild/
Especially for this stuff:
During the pandemic, I rediscovered my passion for researching and writing about #signs and #signpainting—I got the #ghostsigns book into print, and The Showcards Book (see earlier toot in thread).
With no print magazines serving the sign painting trade, I developed the idea of a new print and online publication.
BLAG was born, and is now on its third issue: https://bl.ag/03. It takes an international view of the trade, and every article/issue is a pleasure to produce.
10/
Over the years I have also helped numerous agencies and their clients to find and collaborate with #signpainters and #lettering artists around the world.
This is a sampling of some of the projects that I worked on as producer, and I'm always open to new briefs where my skills and network could be beneficial.
I don't really plug this page of my site, but it has a load more images of projects I've worked on: https://bl.ag/portfolio/
#signpainting #signwriting #signwriters
9/
Here's an #introduction to me, Sam Roberts, reposted to typo.social now I'm here...
I produce BLAG (Better Letters Magazine, https://bl.ag), the world's only publication dedicated to #signpainting / #signwriting.
A born and bred Londoner, I moved with my family to Sant Pere de Ribes in Catalonia, Spain, in 2019. I've also lived in Bristol as a student, and Cambodia as a VSO volunteer.
Here I am with my Lockdown Letterheads portrait by Mark Oatis: https://bl.ag/behind-the-panel-alf-becker-at-lockdown-letterheads/
1/
During the pandemic, I rediscovered my passion for researching and writing about #signs and #signpainting—I got the #ghostsigns book into print, and The Showcards Book (see earlier toot in thread).
With no print magazines serving the sign painting trade, I developed the idea of a new print and online publication.
BLAG was born, and is now on its third issue: https://bl.ag/03. It takes an international view of the trade, and every article/issue is a pleasure to produce.
10/