End of Year Inventories
In which I get opinionated / on my high horse about sign painting
Hello friends, and happy end of 2024 to you all! I’m sure no one has noticed, but I’m a bit late writing my newsletter this month. I normally try to post mid-month, BUT one of my 18 year old kitties had a rough few weeks (tummy troubles), and I decided to postpone until now. So I pivoted, and you’re instead getting an end of year missive!
How’s everyone doing? Are we all in hibernation mode where we don’t know what day it is? This time of the year always gives me a bit of anxiety - it’s so quiet that I often wonder if anyone will ever hire me again, or if it’s time to throw in the towel and get a “real” job (my current fantasies are mail carrier at USPS, or paint mixer at Dick’s Color Center, lol). And then I remember, everyone is resting! No one is working! Just be patient and try to enjoy this moment, and things will pick back up again in a few weeks!
MEANDERING THOUGHTS
Ok here goes nothing - I’ve been wanting to write about this for a while, and feel like it’s time to broach the subject. Kind of a continuation of discussions I’ve written about before; how to navigate the fine line between craft, commercial art vs. fine art, and pondering the role of the artist or craftsperson. Disclaimer - ultimately I think this is up to each individual - we all self-identify with specific roles to give ourselves meaning in the world. What I’ve come to below is my way of making sense - currently - of the profession of sign painting - merely one way of many!
So here we go - I want to talk about the question of EGO in sign painting, and the friction that this can sometimes cause.
This was brought to my attention recently while talking to a business owner who was really frustrated trying to get signs designed and painted for his new shop. He talked about how off-putting it felt when told there would be a wait get on someone’s books, and how it would take months to even be considered for a design. Now I realize that we as sign-painters (or designers, muralists, working artists) get booked up in advance for projects - but it didn’t feel like this is what he was talking about. It felt more like an attitude he was referencing: an elite exclusiveness, a cool factor, the “you get what you get” machismo of sign painting that made it off-putting.
Let’s talk about that. Now while there may be merit in this model, and some clients and artists prefer to work this way, it’s just not my style when it comes to sign-painting, and something I’d prefer not to interact with or embody anymore. (Was I initially a little sign-painting brat after completing Trade Tech, thinking I knew everything? Yes, I was. Have I consistently been humbled over the years, realizing how much I have yet to learn? You betcha!)
I’ve come to the model that I act as a sort of artistic conduit for the business owner. This is the part of my job that I love - after making sure I’m a good fit with a client, I get to collaborate with them as a fellow creative. It’s also incorporating a form of curation into my work as well - pulling from references we both bring to the table. I don’t want to sit alone with only ideas that come out of my head - I want to sit with what the client is bringing to me; to create something that encapsulates and honors their vision. To put it simply - it’s not just about me. (This is also a good moment to note that we all bring our personal style to the table, and that certain clients are drawn to your work because of an affinity to your personal aesthetic.) But as much as possible it’s a melding of all of these elements.
For me, something that’s also tangled into this discussion is the act of signing your work (as a working sign painter.) Confession time - I rarely add my signature to a completed sign. More often than not, it’s because I forget, but sometimes I remember and I just don’t want to do it! It feels like it upsets the delicate balance of layout that I’ve achieved. Now I’m very aware that this is a “me” hang-up - and that it’s quite normal for sign painters to add their moniker, but I’m curious about my resistance to it. Again, this ties into my belief that I’m making something for a specific business - I want to erase my self and ego (as much as that’s actually possible) in the process and create something that elevates whoever I’m working with (while also being proud of my work at the end of the project.) My hope is that I create a positive collaborative bond with the client, one where they want to continue working with me, and recommend me to others. But is this just imposter syndrome sneakily inserting itself into my day job? Or is there some justification to this way of working? One could also argue that by bringing this to your attention I’m engaging in a sort of reverse egotism and navel-gazing, and that I’m making it a lot more complicated than it needs to be!
Well there you have it folks - one of my hot takes on sign painting! Feel free to change my mind, or agree with me! Let’s start a discussion, or remind me of something I’ve forgotten to take into account! I’m genuinely curious as to how other sign painters (or any creatives doing client projects) navigate this and work with a healthy idea of ego or self in an applied arts setting. These are big ideas and I realize some of these thoughts aren’t fully hashed out (and I came in hot with my opinion right off the bat), but if this resonates with you, we can always continue this discussion into next month’s newsletter!
IN THE STUDIO
If you’re still reading after that diatribe (ha!), now we move onwards to an end of year recap. I want to take a moment to thank everyone who supported me this year - clients, friends, family, readers like you, students who took a workshop, folks who came out to my art show, fellow artists I could commiserate with - a big resounding THANK YOU! Looking back over the year, it was a full and good one - I’m proud of my accomplishments, and I felt like I grew in my capacity immensely. And I couldn’t have done it without the support of YOU.
Currently, I’m working on some fun design packages, after wrapping up a flurry of studio activity. I’m still a bit behind on posting projects to Instagram (and even more behind on updating my website), BUT I’m slowly catching up and you can see my latest projects here.
One recent project that I LOVED painting was a gift commission recreating a sign from Gilmore Girls -
There was something creatively freeing about replicating signage from a set - and I’d love to paint more of these in future! So start dreaming of ideas from your favorite TV show or film, and email me! :)
WHAT I’M LOOKING AT
Earlier this year, I took calligraphy classes (beginner’s italic) with Jade Novarino - a brilliant teacher and artist. Fun fact - she did Sweedeedee’s logo (a Portland restaurant with a cult following, iykyk) which is one of my personal faves in town. She offered a few winter classes that I’ve been taking, and they are so lovely. I was overjoyed to discover that I find calligraphy FUN and even SOOTHING. Something about the way the pen nib works is so structured and satisfying - to me, it feels much more forgiving than sign painting, which is probably why I like it so much. It’s familiar but easier to reach that flow state -
My friend Emily Staton (who lives in North Carolina) sent me a package of vintage paper ephemera recently, and I wanted to share some of these goodies with you. I consider Emily the queen of thrifting and an incredible collage artist - she’s amassed a truly staggering collection over the years, which she is generous enough to share!
And that’s it for this month’s newsletter! I hope you enjoyed, and have a lovely final few days of 2024. See you next year!
SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION
On Saturday January 25, from 1-5 PM, I will teach a one day Intro to Sign Painting at Makerspace Sellwood - the first workshop of the new year!
On Sunday March 9th, 10 AM - 4 PM, I will be teaching a NEW class for Wildcraft - GOLD LEAF GILDING! Planning for this one has been a long time coming, so I’m excited to see it come to fruition! I imagine this one will sell out quickly, so hop on it while you can!
On Wednesday evenings from April 30 - May 21 (6:30 - 9:30 PM) I’ll be back at Wildcraft to teach a four week Sign Painting class. I love spreading this workshop out over four weeks, it seems to let students sit more fully with the material and process.
I’ll be back at Outlet PDX teaching Hand Lettering & Sign Painting for RISO workshops on both May 3rd and September 20th - these are one day workshops focused on lettering techniques for RISO printing. FYI they do require that you’ve taken their RISO basics workshop beforehand - which is also such a fun class! I’d love for you to join me!
Thank you everyone for being here, for reading, and for supporting my work. Please feel free to reply with your thoughts, ideas and suggestions on what you’d like to see in upcoming newsletters!
And if you’d like to book me for a future sign, design project or private workshop, please reach out - I’d love to collaborate with you!
Until next time :)
I ALSO HARDLY SIGN MY WORK lol and it's mostly because i'm so tired/relieved to be done that i can hardly muster doing one more thing...but also it's kinda like, why am i going to sign someone's logo? i suppose it's different when it's, say, a big gold leaf piece that you designed yourself, but idk...i need a smaller little signature I think to squeeze in there, lol. as you can see i'm also back and forth on it
No shade to those who do sign commissioned arts, but I feel you regarding some types of commission work feeling weird to “sign.” Of course with tattooing one doesn’t sign someone’s body* but even if that were the case I never felt true ownership over the pieces I did, even if I spent hours drawing, then hours tattooing. Perhaps the process and resulting piece never felt “for me” (ie, the client is both the initiator and initiative) whereas a 5 min sketchbook drawing feels absolutely ok to sign, annotate, date, destroy or what have you because it’s all me. (Sometimes I even forget to “count” the huge binder primarily of custom sketches and final drawings as well as the process and finished photo records I’ve kept from my 8 years tattooing as work I created at all!)
Similarly, these days I tend to date or make notes on sketches so I can orient myself as to when and under what circumstances, BUT sometimes I turn the page to do so because preserving the layout (such as an interesting use of negative space) seems key. With your sign work, clean shapes / space is way important. Maybe there is a way to discretely sign or stamp a small area or on the back that wouldn’t conflict with egos or design. How interesting would it be if 30 years from now someone is going through an old garage and finds an “early” or “original” KB and can trace its roots!?** In this way I see signing or marking a work as touching future history. Is that something to consider or is that too, a form of ego? Or both?
Love your thoughts and happy new year!
*I have seen select tattoo artists have various forms of “signature” but it’s part of what the client is aware of going into it.
**I think it would be very interesting, and not because of ‘fame’ or collectibility reasons. I love an old pen and ink watercolor I bought at an antique shop signed simply: “Ms. Peters.” It’s a mark of a life lived, as much as the art is… A different but related conversation is about adding the human touch in an increasingly digital world.