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This forum seems so quiet now - Do you think the letterhead quality artists Are disappearing from the culture a bit With the rise of printers and vinyl as easy answers ? I use the tech too and know a good designer produces good results using whatever tools . Somehow the lack of skill required To make a letter now compared to before - seems to occasionally lead to laziness and of course ‘production art ‘ fast food signs . I sort of miss the days when it took real skill to paint “FOR SALE” by hand - but I don’t miss listing 75 ice cream flavors that way ! I guess fast food, fast art, and plastic are the way of the future . Although there will always be ‘real artists ‘ around regardless of the medium they use … just thinking out loud a bit here on this lonely forum - not unlike the downtown of an area that once was bustling with activity, but is now quiet …
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The only constant in life is "change", and that applies to the vocation of signmaking as well as all others. Tools change, and if one aspires to survive, we must adapt, or get left behind.
Think about this: Prior to the availability of 1-shot, what did sign artists use to paint signs ? Answer: they mixed their own colours using formulas passed down from those who practiced the vocation, before them. Now, due to more stringent government controls, 1-shot has changed, and lost were some of it's most attractive features...longevity being the most obvious.
There is still a niche market for hand produced signage. Historical restoration being a primary example. In order to stay active in this craft, one has to embrace change, and become proficient with the new tools available. The only alternative is to seek out other sources in other markets, where one can still obtain what is needed to perform jobs effectively. ( Possibly European suppliers ? ) Failing that, one can do research to find some lost formulas, and begin grinding pigments and making their own paint formulations.
-------------------- Ken Henry Henry & Henry Signs London, Ontario Canada (519) 439-1881 e-mail: kjmlhenry@rogers.com
Why do I get all those on-line offers to sell me Viagara, when the only thing hardening is my arteries ? Posts: 2705 | From: London,Ontario, Canada | Registered: Feb 1999
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I call myself a "traditional" sign painter. "Traditional" in that I hand draw my letters and pounce patterns from scratch and use the grid method of enlarging a logo by hand - just like the old days when I learned it from my mentor in the 70's. I spent 1985-2015 making digital signage (earning good money but hating the boring, laborious, polluting process).
Now in my retirement, I moved out of the city into the forest and literally paint signs daily just for practice and fun. I think of painted signs now as art. Digital signage is so good (and cheap) now, I just don't see much want, or need, for businesses to buy a hand painted sign, especially since type designers are getting really good at emulating unique hand lettering styles with bevels, split shades, prismatics, and even distressing them perfectly in powerful software. Multiple copies cost pennies.
I think we are going the way of calligraphy. Calligraphy is now mostly relegated to wedding invitations and hobbyists. There are lots of calligraphy enthusiasts, but only a practiced few actually make a decent living doing it.
I mostly don't do social media, but I posted some of my signs on the website www.oldsignpainter.com. No one has ever contacted me through the website, but that's fine with me. I'm still really enjoying painting signs in the woods for no one but me. Some day I'll die and burden my kids with finding a way to dispose of them. This is my present business plan as a traditional sign painter.
-------------------- Mark Casey Casey Sign Co., Inc. Berkley, MI Posts: 81 | From: Berkley, MI, USA | Registered: Mar 1999
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Mark, I admire what you're doing and loved your site! I also apprenticed in the late sixties and early seventies and have worked with my wife for over fifty years. We still run commercial business and are still loving doing the occasional job i the traditional way and would like to migrate back to it more. Thanks for the inspiration of our tradition.
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6954 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Thank you guys. Rick, I think we inspire each other. I am one of your fans. I'll bet our wives could swap cool stories.
This LetterHead Billboard was one of the things that inspired me to get back to what I loved and to do my part to keep the craft alive while I still can. If one kid gets inspired by my work, then the circle will be complete, because I was lucky enough to have several great sign painters in my town where I grew up that inspired me with their amazing skills.
-------------------- Mark Casey Casey Sign Co., Inc. Berkley, MI Posts: 81 | From: Berkley, MI, USA | Registered: Mar 1999
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Mark, have you trained an apprentice? I learned more about what I know by explaining and demonstrating to someone else than from anything else. I've now outlived all of my apprentices and that saddens me. To teach another how to do something the old way would be like training a Model A mechanic. The world around us has moved. Doing it on a hobby/passion level is such a gift. It also requires an income from another source.That's the part I don't have yet.
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6954 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Long story about apprenticing: I apprenticed 2 years under Ernie Giordano, who apprenticed under Al Grand and others at his brother's Detroit sign shop in the 1930's. On the day Ernie and I agreed to me apprenticing with him, he told me he was told to raise two apprentices (I was to be his second), and he asked me if I would raise two apprentices in my time. I promised I would, but I never did (other than my wife and son). The work just wasn't there anymore. Yes, it haunts me a bit. But I'm not dead yet. I just don't think a kid can count on making a living painting signs. I know some do, but the market is pretty limited.
After 1984, I toiled away with the vinyl cutter, the digital printer and laminator, and even splurged on a 30"x30" Gerber CNC router. Never really enjoyed it and saved my pennies every day for the day we could retire and just survive and never HAVE to work another day. We (my wife and I) achieved our retirement freedom in 2015. We have to live simply, but I know I could always try to sell my signs and go back into business if worse came to worst. You're gonna love your retirement Rick.
-------------------- Mark Casey Casey Sign Co., Inc. Berkley, MI Posts: 81 | From: Berkley, MI, USA | Registered: Mar 1999
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I agree that it would be difficult to make a living painting signs now, but I think the computer jockeys should have the knowledge and ability just in case. I am one of 21 shops in our town (probably the oldest shop still operating) and the only one that still paints. I have computers and I install a LOT of vinyl, but I still get the occasional call from someone that wants a hand painted sign. Sticking vinyl is like a job, but hand painting is a pleasure. My retirement will probably include going back to painting only.
-------------------- 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: 2356 | From: Utica, KY U.S.A. | Registered: Jan 1999
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