a couple years back you posted a You are a signpainter if the posts were great i shared them with the man who took the time to teach me this art. He no longer can paint due to a stroke but we enjoyed the posts they brought back a lot of fond memories
i will start hope we can recreate some of the great posts
YOU KNOW YOU ARE A SIGNPAINTER IF
you have burned your butt with a mineral spirits soaked rag in your back pocket
you been asked whats a mahl stick
you have cashed a check at the bank using multi colored hands with the the covering sent of mineral spirits
hope you can all add something from your experiences
Posted by Dale Feicke (Member # 767) on :
-you've got a whole wardrobe of workclothes that will mix & match, due to runs, drips, splotches
-you also have color-coordinated shoes
-you've been asked over a hundred times, while lettering, "Hey, you paintin' a sign?"
-have heard yourself referred to many times as "ONLY a signpainter"
-have been referred to as an "alky" (like most all signpainters are), due to a cup of Penetrol sitting next to your paint
_your wife complains of the odor when she opens the fridge...gotta store used rollers somewhere
[ July 18, 2010, 04:31 PM: Message edited by: Dale Feicke ]
Posted by Dan Sawatzky (Member # 88) on :
Welcome to Letterville Todd!
You know you are a sign painter when you go on vacation and most of your photos are of signs.
Your five year old grand daughter points out all the good looking signs when you go for a drive.
-grampa dan
Posted by Pat Welter (Member # 785) on :
you know your a sign painter when some says"man wish I could paint like that or do that for a living." or Did you do that with a brush? while your standing there with brush in hand.
Posted by Todd Blocher (Member # 7534) on :
thanks everyone i have always enjoyed this site this was my first post but hope for more in the future
its fun to sit back and read the posts because i can relate to so many of them and I admire the people in this business and their willingness to share their stories what a great community
just also wanted to thank Ed Terranova for taking the time to teach me this trade when i graduated from h.s in 1984.i worked with him for about 10 years those experiences cannot be replaced and was the bests time of all
. Signpainting isnt my full time career but it what i enjoy doing the most
Posted by John Byrd (Member # 825) on :
If you know what "drag a line" means
You keep Stabilo pencils in the refrigerator
If you've heard "must be nice to not have to work for a living"by passers by.
Posted by Guy H. J. Hilliard (Member # 2529) on :
You may be a sign painter if;
Helvetica is only occasionally used as a curse.
You've told your daughter that you need to take her baton to work today.
The only thing you have cut with your Saber is a line.
You hear the word "pounce" and you do not immediately think of a tiger and gazelle.
2 step ladders and a 2 X 12 IS a platform.
You know what an "opaque projector" is.
You think chalk dust is more valuable than gold dust.
You know "cutting in" has nothing to do with preparing the turkey on Thanksgiving.
Posted by William Holohan (Member # 2514) on :
Your antique sign book collection is worth more than your new work van.
Posted by Judy Pate (Member # 237) on :
Someone says,"Hey, you miss spelled that word!"
Posted by Bill Wood (Member # 6543) on :
I'd be rich if I could do that
I bet you can draw good
Does it bother you if someone watches
I've got a grandson that can do that
Are you hiring,,,I'm real good triming windows
I was curious...did you say you had a square foot!
Where can I buy some of that paint and them brushes
You all have heard all this I cant even draw a straight line (neither can I)
Posted by Lynda Yoder (Member # 7340) on :
You collect the works of the "old" greats that have passed on.
Posted by Ray Rheaume (Member # 3794) on :
...your pants are so covered in paint you can stand them upright at night.
...the floor of your shop looks like someone woofed up a bag of jelly beans.
...you own more brushes than you do socks by tenfold.
...you go on vacation and your photo album of the trip is full of signs you liked.
...you are told you're a "dying breed" at least twice a month.
Rapid
Posted by Preston McCall (Member # 351) on :
When you have actually been approached by some teenage stranger asking if you would sell your paint covered sweatshirt hoodie.
When you see mineral sprits go on sale at HD.
When you have more half used cans of One Shot than anyother type of paint in the garage.
When you can claim to own at least four different snaplines.
When you realize that old lightweight rickety aluminum ladder is better than the new fiberglass one that weighs about twice as much and is so rigid that it is dangerous.
When you cannot resist keeping any interesting jar or can from falling into the trash can.
and when you have to check Letterville more frequently than the new page or the stock market report.
Posted by FranCisco Vargas (Member # 145) on :
when they say 'make something happen' and everyone can see it & read it...
Posted by Eric Elmgren (Member # 11536) on :
When you've heard another Jay Leno wannabe say "Hey, you spelled that wrong!" so many times you don't even acknowledge it any more
Posted by Eric Elmgren (Member # 11536) on :
When you've heard another Jay Leno wannabe say "Hey, you spelled that wrong!" so many times you don't even acknowledge it any more
Posted by Bob Sauls (Member # 11321) on :
It must take steady hands to do that. I knew a signpainter once, shook like a leaf until he picked up a brush, did I mention he drank a bit?
Posted by Alicia B. Jennings (Member # 1272) on :
You hear, "You went to college and now you paint signs" And while creaming up your coffee at Starbucks, you grap about a dozen stir sticks and put them in your pocket. While dining or driving, you'll stop to quickly draw up a design for a sign, while the idea is still fresh in your mind. You hoard cans of lead based paint. "The little stasholoa" You look at people, with your nose held high, and say proudly " No, I don't have any cheap brush for you to take and touch up your car paint with" And last, if you ever see any BonAmi cake soap bars at a store, you buy up their whole supply, walking out of the store as if you found gold.
Posted by Tim Barrow (Member # 576) on :
you log onto this website and try to think up another insane phrase to add to the already insane list here,....
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
all of the above!
...if you can still work when the electricity is out.
(& for a country that has been metric since 1972, your 'little stashola' still has cans with pints & fl.oz written on the labels)
Posted by Bill Davidson (Member # 531) on :
-if you have a plastic squeegee in your shirt pocket! -if you have stuck yourself with an exacto knife putting it your pocket pointy end first -if you have a mountain of left over vinyl stuck to the backside of your weeding table -if you have more than three dedicated computers in your shop -if you have framed your putter shaft mahl stick with your fav brushes -if your "number one" asks what "kerning" means
I knew this was going to happen when I had my meet and the 4B was the WOW thing. And my old books are worth more than ME right now.
Posted by Bill Davidson (Member # 531) on :
-if you have a plastic squeegee in your shirt pocket! -if you have stuck yourself with an exacto knife putting it your pocket pointy end first -if you have a mountain of left over vinyl stuck to the backside of your weeding table -if you have more than three dedicated computers in your shop -if you have framed your putter shaft mahl stick with your fav brushes -if your "number one" asks what "kerning" means
I knew this was going to happen when I had my meet and the 4B was the WOW thing. And my old books are worth more than ME right now.
Posted by Curt Stenz (Member # 82) on :
Alicia, I hear ya, I have some old, unopened cans of 1-shot and and for some reason I just cannot get myself open them. Bon Ami cakes too, real scarce these days, although I very seldom get to use it.
Posted by Rusty Bradley (Member # 6938) on :
If you've ever left the custom color sample to be scanned back at the shop...and save an extra trip by letting them scan your shirt instead.
[ July 20, 2010, 01:03 AM: Message edited by: Rusty Bradley ]
Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
You buy popscicles just for the sticks.
You can't watch tv, read the paper, darn it, go ANYWHERE without noticing fonts!
You walk around with straight lines inked across your cheeks from sticking your ruler in your teeth. (I did this once & shopped in Walmart like that, not knowing it!)
Posted by Lawrence Armstrong (Member # 8336) on :
You have paint on every single piece of clothing you own.
Posted by Ray Skaines (Member # 3702) on :
you are a signpainter if...
your work reveals it and your proud to call yourself a "signpainter".
Posted by Preston McCall (Member # 351) on :
You have altered your 8' ladder with bigger wider,feet to work in gravel.
You are amazed at how no matter what, there always seems to be some weird color of one shot on your exterior door handle of your vehicle.
You have misspelled at least five words on signs....and let one actually pass through to have no one notice.
You imagine in the future special lettering brushes with 'spell check' built into the ferrules.
You keep all the split-tail brushes, thinking someday, someone here might mention how to recover them....and have at least a dozen of them.
You hate having to find a font out of a list of hundreds in Corel Draw....and know it is there.
You are always amazed how many others complain of the odor of mineral spirits, but that it never seems to bother you.
You are continually assaulted by some 'designer' who sends you a jpg of some great design for a sign and realize they no nothing about signpainting or about how hard it is to letter half inch copy just to make the thing pass regulation Z of the Federal Trade Commission.
That 'WAC' for car dealers is supposed to stand for With Approved Credit, when the public thinks it means We Are Crooks!
Posted by Craig Sjoquist (Member # 4684) on :
You know your a sign painter if
when some ask did ya get any paint on the sign ?? when you still get the sign done after forgetting your ruler. when still get the sign done and forgot your drawing pencil.
Posted by Brent Logan (Member # 6587) on :
You not only steal the stir sticks from Starbucks like Alicia, but you steal the ketchup cups from Wendy's too.
People ask you why you have little pieces of tape stuck to your shirt.
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Quote "You have misspelled at least five words on signs....and let one actually pass through to have no one notice. "
I have one reverse-lettered window I did in 1986, in black ('open hours' for a barbershop), backed up in white enamel on a door glass pane. Try lettering small script in reverse- I got 'an' painted, instead of 'am' for the morning hours-I must have lost count of the number of ups and downs before the end of the letter!
It's still up there, as fresh as when I painted it- haunts me every time we drive past!!!
Posted by Dennis Kiernan (Member # 12202) on :
You're in the National Gallery of London to see Van Eyck's Arnolfini Wedding Portrait, and your main interest in the picture is his elaborate signature.
Posted by Judy Grossman (Member # 235) on :
You stop in a parking lot to check out the striping on some car and look for the signature. You feel more comfortable in those paint pants than in any other clothes. Someone doesn't recognize you in nice clothes and says something like.."I didn't recognize you without your pants on". You can always find your lettered vehicle in a parking lot. When people meet you and you tell them what you do, they know you by your signs. You have a box of one hair brushes that you can't part with. When people think it's funny to make faces at you as you paint in reverse on a window. Course...that hasn't happened for a long time. You can't stand the smell of vinyl. When people stop and ask you where you got those neat painted pants. When there has been at least one time that you have placed the wrong end of the paint brush in your mouth to get off the ladder. Yick!
Posted by Dale Feicke (Member # 767) on :
When I die, I've left instructions in my will that I be cremated with my paint-spattered sign clothes on, cause that's who I am (or was).
Besides, it'll make a much hotter fire.....
Yeah, I'm a signpainter.....and damn proud of it!
Posted by jack wills (Member # 521) on :
When your surprised at stuff you find in your 70 yr old Gerstner, (former tool box) from when you left the toolmaker trade to go back to sign painting. OR... You don't care if the bee stings you while you are finishing a serif on the last line of copy of that sign. It is sitting on your collar and waits while you finish, then flies away. Or.. You hope that Bull, (who's been watching you for a while) goes away before you finish the billboard job in the pasture.
Posted by Judy Grossman (Member # 235) on :
Or you know people like Jack Wills, Bill Davidson, Kent Smith, Moon Mullins, Rick Glawson, Mike Clines, Jim Moser Gary Rhodes, Rick Sacks, Megan Sacks, Bill Diaz, Nancy Bennett, Dan Sawatzsky, Bill Riedel, David Butler, Sonny Franks, Carole Bersin, Carl Rohrs, Brent Logan, Mark Oatis, Alicia Jennings, Tony Segale, Dale Manor, Ray Guzman, Cisco Vargas, Dave Petri, Patrick Smith, and hundreds more that have shared their wisdom, their stories, their lives with you....Gotta know your a signpainter then.
Posted by jack wills (Member # 521) on :
Judy, I love you...
Posted by Preston McCall (Member # 351) on :
You still have that box of patterns that has signs from businesses that are no longer in business, thinking that you might someday be able to use just part of it.
Posted by Mark Baty (Member # 9776) on :
You know you're a sign painter when, (and I,can tell how many years you've been one), by looking at the half moon paint smears on your pants, from pushing up the paint stroke that over shot the base line, and then cleaning your middle finger on your pants, so you don't finger print your surface.
This observation will tell if your a righty or a lefty, also. Mark Baty
![[Wink]](wink.gif)