Finished the Swinton Ghost Sign

 A while back, I posted a blog about a sign I was doing for a friend's art store. Well, after a couple of delays, it's finally finished. First, the design was transferred to the wall with a pounce pattern, then hand painted onto the cinder block surface, and finally aged. The sign measured 5' x 10', and was to have a very weathered look. All the lettering and aging was done with water-based paints. I think this is becoming one of my favorite types of jobs to do. Hope you enjoy the photos, and feel free to comment or ask questions.

 

Back when it was still done by hand.

I was going through some pictures over the weekend, and came across a set I designed and painted for one of the local television stations in Calgary. Digital printing was just starting to make its entrance into the industry, but most of the sets were still painted by hand. The funny thing is, the material I used for the backdrop was vinyl that was being used for printing outdoor billboards. I had started using it for painting backdrops instead of canvas and muslin because it could be to lighted from behind, and was also good for putting removable coatings on. This set was designed for the stations new Breakfast Show, and would probably only be used for short time. The backdrop was coated with 5 coats of Sign Strip, so it could be painted on and then removed when the show ran its course. They ended up using the backdrop wall for a number of years, painting it many times for shows and commercials. The funny thing is, last year, I had a call from a lighting company that had changed the studios over and wanted to know if I wanted to buy this really neat backdrop set up that could be painted on. I laughed and told the fellow that it was my company that had designed and installed it years ago. The process that we used to do the job was to coat the drop first, then with foam core stencils, and a projector for the layout, we airbrushed the design with spray guns and water-based paints, to apply the images. The reason it was sprayed instead of painting with brushes is they wanted to light it from behind. It took 2 days to complete with myself and 2 others. I find now with all this being done digitally, or green screens and  3d sets; it just doesn't seem to have the look or feel of a hand-painted set. Maybe I'm just getting old. Hope you enjoy the walk down memory lane.
  

 

A little fun with crackle

I thought I would do a quick post to get 2012 going. The Year is starting off with a bang. Between trying to catch up and new projects coming in, 2012 looks like it might be a busy year. The Aultman Taylor project is moving along and hope to have it wrapped up soon, I'll post some pictures when I get a chance. I was recently on one of the sign  forums, and picked up on a technique using white glue that a fellow sign-man named Mark Fair uses to create a cracked paint look. It didn't take long for one of my customers to decide he likes the look and ordered a couple for his man cave. The interest is spreading and now I'm getting requests for other designs. Funny how things go. I'll try to post a "Step by Step when I get a chance.