Working at a sign shop (long before computers!) I was fortunate to learn and practice the art of hand lettering with brushes and paint. My ability to provide graphic art & design expanded, allowing me to work for myself at a young age; building & painting signs, lettering trucks, boats, race cars, once an airplane(!) and perform many other custom graphic design jobs.
Old School sign work was produced before and without computer graphics or vinyl cutting machines; painted with brushes. The design was first hand drawn smaller, to scale (usually 1 1/2" = 1') using an architects rule. Then patterns drawn to full size on paper with pencil and, yes-an eraser! The pounced paper patterns transferred the layout to the signage and were then hand lettered with quill brushes and oil base enamel. Many of the examples shown were created with this method.
Recent hand work includes: Curtis Farm, Westminster, MA - 80 Taylor Street, Littleton, MA (re-done on blue in 2015) - Wiin Haven Farm, Westminster, MA - Crowover Farm in Ashburnham, MA below:
Overlook Middle School Gym, the Cordwainer’s Shop boot sign, 1750, Ipswich, MA and the Town of Ashburnham restoring the old Town Safe.
- See the process of Saving the Ashburnham Town Safe.Work designed on the computer can provide paper patterns for hand lettering, be printed and/or cut with vinyl for a vast choice of applications, how about reproduced in cut steel?
Hand lettered using computer generated patterns: Ashburnham Historical Society, James Whidden Woodwright, LLC, firewood signs. Black Bear Concrete, Good Wood, Curtis Farm trucks were designed on the computer and rendered with vinyl by D& G Graphics.
Older hand done work includes the old Toy Store - painted in reverse on glass, Anderson's Market, gone for years now, The Antiquarian Museum, all in Concord, MA. 80 Taylor Street sign in Littleton done in 1980+/- was still up in 06 (re-done in 2015 on blue!), as well as the Doe Orchards sign in 2013.