The 1909 Gas Traction Engine project

Just returned from working on a 1909 Gas Traction Company tractor at the Reynolds -Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Myself and a good friend Bruce Ander spent 3 days re-creating the lettering, striping and high-lighting the cast letters, back to the way it rolled out of the factory in 1909. This was another one of those jobs that required a lot of research and a little guessing as to how they would of been done. The problems with working from photos from that period, is most have been retouched in one form or another. The other problem is they usually show the equipment from a distance, or from the wrong angle. I've also included a picture of the fender that has traces of the original lettering, but is almost non-existent. We managed to get a lot done, and will finish up the lettering on the radiator and fenders next week. Although we'll be hand painting the lettering, they'll have a stenciled look that was used from the factory.  I've also included a few photos of other tractors that are part of their collection. If you ever get a chance, make sure to drop by the museum. They have a wonderful collection.

Aultman Taylor decal project nearing the end.

Just a quick update on the Aultman Taylor decal project. Some of you may remember when I first started the project,  how little I had to go on. Fast forward to today, and you can see the almost finished design. I hand painted the master artwork to a stage where it could be scanned into the computer, and then will finish up using Photoshop and Illustrator. The finished piece will then be digitally printed to create decals, instead of the traditional way of silkscreen and die cutting, that used back in the day. This has been a very detail orientated project, testing both my brush skills, and also my computer skills. I believe you have to be able to master both skill sets to survive in doing this type of work. The nice thing about using the computer, is how much flexibility you have in making changes and tweaks, not to mention, not having to wait for the paint to dry. Here's a few updated pictures of the project. I'll be doing a full re-cap of the entire project in the near future, including a pictures of the finished decal, applied to the tractor. Thanks for dropping in. Funny, when I was a kid, I use to get in a lot of trouble for drawing on my friends wall and whatever I could find, now I get paid for it. Who would have know.

Just returned from a road trip

 I just got back from a seven-day bike trip down into the states. Our route took us through a number of small towns in Montana / Idaho / Oregon and Washington. It seemed each town had its own character, mostly due to the architecture and of course, the signs. There were so many different styles and types of signs in these towns, that you could only imagine how many generations of local sign painters had plied their trade to the walls, windows and such over the years. Because I was riding with a group, it was hard to stop and take pictures without falling behind the pack. I think I'll plan a ride by myself, or with someone who also shares my interests, so I can explore and document all the visual eye-candy these little gems of towns have to offer. A lot of the towns seemed to have been founded in the late 1800 or early 1900, so you can imagine the sign work that had been done over the years. I was also surprised to see how many of these small towns seemed to be turning into ghost towns, so many vacant or boarded up shops on their main streets. I'm sure they were bustling little centers in their day, but with the closing of a factory or plant, or the Interstate that was built with no exit to the town, had fallen into despair, and would eventual die. Riding though cottage country and the tourist areas around the many lakes, I couldn't help to notice that a lot of the road side signs were still hand painted, your can tell them by their layouts and flair. I'm sorry I didn't have more time to take pictures, but at least I managed to get a few. If your interested in checking out the bike trip I was on, you can follow the link to: http://pcacanada.blogspot.ca/ to see the trip blog and photos. Thanks for dropping in.

Reproducing other peoples designs

Part of being a sign painter is reproducing other peoples designs, whether a designer, or business owner with the dreaded "nephew art." There's a fine line between trying to be helpful, and or offending a potential client. I've been very fortunate over the years to have worked with excellent designers and business owners who respect my opinion on what works or what doesn't. However, I've also had my fair share of  bad designs, the ones I won't be taking pictures of for the portfolio. I realize as I get older, I might not see the change in trends and taste as much as the youth and markets of  today. But on the other hand, good design is still good design. People come to me because they know regardless of how complicated or how out there their design is; I'll paint it to the best of my ability. If I see something that's not working, I may suggest looking at it a different way. The bottom line is, you're a brush for hire. I know there's no point in complaining about it because it offends my design pride. On the other hand, it doesn't hurt to suggest something to make it a little better. One thing's for sure; if you push to hard, you won't be getting the job. I've made a living painting what people want, not trying to change their minds. With the age of computers, things have become a little more challenging. Designs that are easy to create on a computers, can be very difficult to re-create by hand. What takes a click on the computer, can take hours to paint. The other problem is what looks good in print or on a monitor, may not look the same painted on a wall. The reality is, if you want to make a living painting signs the "Old School" way, you have to work with the client, regardless of the challenges. I just finished a job that was full of challenges, between the wrong clear wood sealer, a logo that challenged my brush skills, having to paint tight lines over 3 1/2' wood planks. Not to mention the weather, either rain or a hot sun with no shade. In the end, the customer was very happy, and the design was faithful to the designers' work. Not to mention I was paid to do what I love doing, painting signs. One of the big perks of this job was the ice cream, they make it from scratch.  Thanks for dropping by.

1913 Canadian Pacific Box Car restoration

Recently I started a restoration project on a 1913 railway box car for Heritage Park in Calgary. The project was being done by Brian Manning, who is also the Chief Engineer at the park. With the first part of the job done, I"m now in the process of making the patterns for the remaining lettering. This was a tough one due to the lack of information available for the lettering layout. The problem you run into on jobs such as this is the railway didn't save the shop drawing from 1920 and earlier. The only source of information is from photos, which are also very difficult to find. I have the good fortune to have a friend that is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to railway equipment, not to mention his vast network of historians and collectors. I ended up re-creating the lettering by using a photo as an underlay and then re-creating the lettering in my sign program ( Flexi Sign). By measuring the height and width of the area to be lettered, and also the plank width on the siding, I came up with the layout. From this information, I was able to make a pattern for the graphics. Once the pattern was pounced it was time to go over and hang out at the train barn. There's something relaxing and rewarding about working on these old pieces of history. The stories they could tell, just think, 1913, just imagine what they've seen. Enjoy.

 
 These are just some of the working photos, I'll post more when I finish. Thanks for dropping in.