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Just got a call from across the pond. Our friend, Arthur, has passed away. He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family. He will be missed. Love...Jill
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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so sorry to hear- he was always interesting when he posted here, and I have several of his fonts. Never got to meet him in person, but he was on my "list".
-------------------- Michael Clanton Clanton Graphics/ Blackberry 19 Studio 1933 Blackberry Conway AR 72034 501-505-6794 clantongraphics@yahoo.com Posts: 1735 | From: Conway Arkansas | Registered: Oct 2001
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Sorry to hear that, he seemed like a great fellow. My condolences, I know you and he were good friends.
-------------------- Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again? -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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So sad to hear this Jilly. When I read your reply to my post on the UK boards last night I thought of him. You were blessed to have met him face to face. What a special fellow. A talented signwriter and equally talented font designer. Arthur was kind enough to support and consult with me whilst I was working on creating my font. Just a couple of weeks ago I received this in an email from him...
"Hi Duncan, it was lovely to receive such a warm hearted letter from you. Once I'm better again, If ever you are this way, you must come and say hi, I'd love a long chat with you. Feeling pretty groggy at the moment, will let you know what's doing once the tests are complete. Thanks Arthur"
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I am sorry to hear about Arthur, never got to meet him but from what I have seen of his work he was a top notch signwriter. I remember some 1" Roman he posted here a few years ago just beautiful work. A least his fonts will live on
-------------------- Terry Colley The VintageSign Co 42 barrack hill Romiley Stockport Cheshire, England sk6 3az tel 0161 494 5089 terry@bullandbrush.fsnet.co.uk Posts: 210 | From: England | Registered: Dec 1999
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Arthur was such a sweetheart. I'm hoping for a trip "across the pond" next year for a Scotland backpacking expedition and we'd planned on getting together once I got there. We've emailed a number of times and I use his fonts often. I have learned so much from his contributions here and from his emails. I'm absolutely in shock.
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Some of Arthur's amazing writings he sent me (now even more treasured) He was a brilliant writer AND sign artist and will be missed. Enjoy.:
Bitten by Barbel
My first encounter with a barbel occurred during a club match with the old Chesham Angling Club back in the early sixties. We would be picked up at about six o'clock by one of Rover Bus Services fleet. Usually a Bedford OB. Smiths clock in the centre above the split screen, hoop backed seats covered with dingy grey and blue moquette, hardly glamorous by today's standards, but fine for the time. Besides, who could worry about anything with a days fishing in prospect? On this particular day we were to fish a long bend in the Thames, somewhere near the Albert Bridge at Windsor.
After the usual pre-match preliminaries we all settled down to await events. A shout of dismay from a couple of swims upstream was the first hint of what was to happen during the next hour or so. A fish had been lost; line had been broken. Whatever kind of fish could rend 5lb Luron with such ease?
Minutes later, a further shout of anguish, this time from the next man downstream. The same had happened to him. While listening to the dejected conversation between the two grieving anglers, I struck into my first bite of the day. Split cane bent to the pull of a very fast and powerful fish. Split cane straightened again, almost immediately and six feet of nylon flailed in the breeze. Oh the pain! No shout from me, I've always been shy and retiring, but oh the pain.
The next man downstream beyond me knew the same could not possibly happen to him. He was right it didn't. He remained untroubled by fish or, as some were beginning to suspect, submarine. The next man, however, was wise in the ways of large fish. Legend had it that he'd once landed a 2lb chub! Out came the pike kit, on went the lob-worm, over went the rod well, not quite as quickly as that perhaps, but the passage of time foreshortens remembered events as surely as anglers, other than myself, exaggerate them.
The battle was long and hard, if somewhat unequal. The fish gave of its best but the angler, with quantities of freely given and bitter encouragement from those who had failed, (always the most vociferous of advisors) overcame the wonderful creature he had hooked. A golden torpedo six pounds in weight a barbel.
In the light of this experience I realised that I must become a fisher of barbel. So, with uncharacteristic haste, and the company of two wonderful friends, set out for the Throop fishery on the Dorset Stour in October 1981, a mere twenty years later.
Fully believing that great art cannot be achieved without suffering, I decided to apply the same logic to fishing. So, settled myself on an impossibly narrow lip of ground between the water and the decaying trunk of an enormous fallen tree, the whole engulfed by poplar tall stinging nettles.
An underarm cast downstream close under my own bank and I was ready. Mentally prepared for a long wait, it came as a bit of a shock to see the rod top sweep round before I had finished pouring my first cup of coffee. A lapful of scalding coffee convinced me that I was in for some great art!
Another cast to the same spot, this time I would be ready. Nerves strung to concert pitch, hand on the rod butt, index finger pointing down the rod bet I look really professional though I wonder if the vibration imparted to the rod by my hand is putting the fish off. My little finger is beginning to itch under the nail. How do you scratch an itch under the nail? I'll just take my hand off the rod and press my little finger into the palm of my hand Ah, that's better. DAMN! Missed it again.
Another cast, same spot, nothing will distract me this time. Funny really, I wasn't expecting this sort of action at all. I thought barbel were just like large carp, two bites a season if the gods are smiling, or have I just blown my two bites? Nothing's happening I'm gasping for a cigarette should I risk putting the rod down? No, bound to get a bite the moment I do rubbish, fish are not that clever! I must have a cigarette nothing's happening I must have a cigarette now Ah, that's better DAMN AND BOTHER!
Okay, fooled again, I won't cast straight away. I'll loose feed a handful of Spam cubes and calm down a bit enjoy the cigarette. How is it that allegedly dim-witted fish are so adept at timing their bite to coincide with the very moment its impossible to strike?
Right, this is it bigger lump of meat this time the size of a golf ball they'll have to chew this give plenty of warning. I thought barbel just slammed the rod round and stayed hooked, dont they? Okay, hand off the rod and wait this time good job I don't want a cigarette, or a cup of coffee, or a sandwich actually, a sandwich would be rather nice, what did Gracie pack us? Which reminds me, I wonder how Max is doing. Wonder if it's beef and onion in the sandwiches that I'm glad I don't want. Maybe I ought to check. It would be awful if I were looking forward to beef and onion and Gracie had packed banana sandwiches - not banana surely, think Id better just look. Was that a touch, or was it just weed brushing the line?
The rod heeled over, a fish was on! It pulled hard downstream and just as I was about to give line, it turned and came upstream thumping the line with an all-too familiar rhythm. White lips and belly, dark tail and dorsal, three pounds twelve, the heaviest chub I'd caught at the time. A lovely fish but not a barbel.
Three hours later and no trace of a bite, other than my own. It had been beef and onion. Do you ever wonder about natural justice? Do you ever check your food for concealed hooks?
Time to go and see how Max was getting on then there it was. The bite that only barbel can give rod absolutely still one second, next, the top slams round faster than the eye can follow and the butt hammers up into your hand, if you are lucky enough to have your hand there. Barbel don't always take in that way, but it never fails to thrill when they do.
Then the twilight world of the fight the duality of the brain is rarely more apparent than when fighting a large fish. The practical side wanting only to land, weigh and return the fish as soon as possible, while the artistic hemisphere enjoys every thrust and parry, every move and counter. Weighing the odds, when to apply pressure and when to let the fish settle, wanting it to go on forever!
Most barbel will fight only as hard as you make them. Try to bully them and they will return the compliment with interest; let them settle and they will forget you are there but there are exceptions! They usually weigh between five and seven pounds, but they know they weigh twenty at least! They break all the rules of power to weight ratios and hydrodynamics. They refuse to discuss or even entertain the idea of compromise, they are rare and they are very special.
While the fish I had hooked was not one of the few, neither was it a laggard. Scything away one minute, laying up the next, until it found a weed-bed and there it lay both of us glad of a pause. With no pressure from me, the fish soon chose to swim out of its refuge. As luck would have it, a portion of the sheltering weed came away too, totally covering the fish's eyes. It was then a simple matter to reel in my first barbel, seven pounds four ounces, perfect in every way.
-------------------- Jay Allen ShawCraft Sign Co. Machesney Park, IL jallen222@aol.com http://www.shawcraft.com/
"The object of the superior man is truth." -Confucius Posts: 1285 | From: Machesney Park, IL, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I used to email with him a few years back. He sent me an email when Charles and I released Mocha Script and told how much he liked it. Now I wished I had kept the email.
My deepest condolences to his family and his friends. A true master has passed.
-------------------- Bruce Bowers
DrCAS Custom Lettering and Design Saint Cloud, Minnesota
"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter Posts: 6451 | From: Saint Cloud, Minnesota | Registered: Jun 1999
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I never had the privilege of meeting, talking to, or even e-mailing Arthur, but I always looked forward to his posts or replies because I admired his sense of humor, and I drooled over his work.
May he rest in peace.
-------------------- Don Hulsey Strokes by DON signs Utica, KY 270-275-9552 sbdsigns@aol.com
I've always been crazy... but it's kept me from going insane. Posts: 2273 | From: Utica, KY U.S.A. | Registered: Jan 1999
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Very sad. Another terrific craftsman gone...
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. Charles Mingus Posts: 6712 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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My sincere condolences to his family & friends.I enjoyed his posts and he was a great craftsman.
-------------------- Judy Pate Signs By Judy Albany, Georgia USA 229-435-6824
Live simply...Love generously...Care deeply...Speak kindly...Leave the rest to God. Posts: 2621 | From: Albany,GA,USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I never met him in person but we had emailed a couple of times. He was one of those people I would like to emulate. And as a lettering artist, one of the best.
-------------------- Chuck Peterson Designs San Diego, CA Posts: 1050 | From: San Diego, CA USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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You never want to wake up in the morning and think, "one of our friends or good acquaintances will leave us today"...although I didn't know Arthur it was years ago I used to drop a post or letter and he was always so gracious and interesting. His work was a labor of love and he was a true asset and inspiration to many. I know Jill kept in touch with him a lot. Sorry about your loss those who were very close to him. I am saddened also. May you rest in peace, Arthur. ( I used to tell him he had a great name and my son was named Arthur also).
-------------------- Deb Fowler
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney (1901-1966) Posts: 5373 | From: Loves Park, Illinois | Registered: Aug 1999
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I never met Arthur, but I always enjoyed reading his posts and seeing his beautiful work. I used to always wish to meet him in person. Arthur is a person I never met, and yet I sadden by his death. Another great talent loss. I wonder if there is somewhere, where his obituary can be read? Gosh, it would be three full size newspaper pages long.
-------------------- Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl) Tacoma, WA Since 1987 Have Lipstick, will travel. Posts: 3812 | From: Tacoma, WA. U.S.A. | Registered: Dec 1999
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How nice it would be for all the great people to meet at the final Letterhead gathering in the here after.
-------------------- Bill Riedel Riedel Sign Co., Inc. 15 Warren Street Little Ferry, N.J. 07643 billsr@riedelsignco.com Posts: 2953 | From: Little Ferry, New Jersey, USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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I'm floored. I've been so busy finishing up a large sign job, I completely missed this post. We shared a few very brief exchanges on the subject of fonts and that was about it. He had revived some of the Becker alphabets. Here's his stuff:
[ April 13, 2013, 02:20 PM: Message edited by: Michael Gene Adkins ]
-------------------- Michael Gene Adkins The Fontry 1576 S Hwy 59 Watts OK 74964 Posts: 845 | From: Watts, OK USA | Registered: Jun 1999
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