What blog did this film clip come from? Interested in seeing more that they offer. Great post. Don't you guys like Dryvit? This is a real art form sweeping the country.
Nope, not a fan of Dryvit and styrofoam. Makes me wanna puke!... Stucco and lath the other hand is an awesome artform. Here's a stucco and lath job from the turn of the century.. Dreamland at Coney Island.
But it IS such a great beer! I think you may be right about the art and passion behind both arts, you can tell a difference. Which reminds me the last one is gone from the fridge, time to re-stock!
that video screams the old Americana mentality that so needs to come back to this nation....Inspiring. Thanks for posting it
Best fifteens minutes I've spent in a long time (reading your post and watching the vid). It makes you think real long and hard about society and how most of us just pass things by, forgetting there once was (and luckily still is) true art and craftsmanship in the world we live in and our urban and man made surroundings. Great work.
That was excellent. I didn't realize there was anybody really still carrying the Sign Painters Torch. I'm glad to know the Art is alive and well.. And it took me a minute to understand just why you included it with the narrative you did, but I see the light. It's all about carrying that torch when everyone else has long ago moved onto LED flashlights. "I prefer torchlight gawd dammet!" Plus, Stella is one helluva tasty beverage! Cheers
That story really touched me, Because im an apprentace for a tattoo shop and i look at them the same way when they are working.
I suppose all the replies admiring sign painting were inevitable. The craft in that vid was the smallest element for me. The unspoken message was in the desire to stick with the art form regardless of it's percieved antiquity. Same reason we build things the old way, same reason airbrush guys hate vinyl, same reason most of us dislike billet. At least that's what I got from it. Sometimes the juice is in the doing or indeed the people doing whatever it may be. It's a vibe. It's an unspoken intangible spirit that's hard to pass on or explain. In all honesty it's probably better to avoid trying to explain.
When I was working on the Ambassador Hotel remodel,there was a building just EAST of it that had a 100' ad on it,that was painted by hand. When I started there,it was a BMW ad for the Mini Cooper Wagon. Then it was an ad for the new Hyundai Sedan,a Tequila ad,then a salsa ad. I got to watch the guys draw it out ON THE WALL then paint them,each time. I called Craig(CW's40TPU)once and asked him if he ever painted on that site,but I think he said no. There was also a HUGE ad with Shaq on it when I was working in Westwood. Alot of them you see are painted in a warehouse of printed on a bug laserjet type printer,then just hung up like a banner. But there's still some in downtown LA, Westwood,and Culver City that are painted outside on the buildings.
Wow Ryan, that was really cool. Who would have thought a doco about signwriters would be so interesting. Have passed the link on to a friend of mine with a sign company. Will see what he thinks of it.
At work today I was looking at this wicked 34 from the Alter Boys' show coverage. Apparently, the guy in the cube next to me was looking at a Ferrari. Our department manager comes up behind us and says "He's looking at Ferraris, and the car you're looking at doesn't even have a hood." People just don't get it sometimes.
Chances are the guy looking at the Ferrari hasen't built anything in his life. Not that there is anything wrong with that. (Neither has the manager).
some of dave simard's best work. and it just illustrates the point. the guys who get it are quietly plying their craft out of view of the unwashed. and they like it that way. to a point. when the call for that kind of work dwindles, and their liveihood is threatened, things change. figuring out how to hang on to the old ways by making people understand the value in the craft is the secret. dave has a good handle on that, as do a good many hot rod builders. how do you perfect your craft while finding people who think it's worthwhile enough to support? that's the great question.
Wow! That was a great video. I mean epic! It was very inspiring and well made. I admire the shit out of those guys! It's great to still see things done the old fashion way and not the quick, easy and most profitable as seen more and more in this country. I feel proud to see dudes like that busting ass in this country. It reminds me of how it was back in the day. The old timers would be proud!
Wow muttley you have a way with words, that's about what i'd say Ryan, thanks for the great video, and take him out for a good hard drive. You cant understand a hot rod until you've ridden in one. Also remind him that in a traditional 60's sense you could toss that gt350 motor in a coupe that is 1/2 the weight!!
Hey you fucker!! I just spit coffee all over myself! That's some funny shit right there! So before I got to that response I was thinking about how today's Ferarri folk are polar oposites of our current hotrod folk. By that I mean those of us who enjoy and honor tradition. There was a time when a Ferarri was the epitome of this topic. Engines developed on a piece of paper, bodies hammered out with mallets and rollers then worked to a high finish in a color that became a standard and was seldom used on anything else out of respect. When you get down on one knee and look at the early Ferarris from different angles, from the body builder's perspective, it's a thing of beauty and master craftsmanship. As things grow it had to become more "efficient" in both build and performance much like the mondo-billet street rods that can leave you wanting. I enjoyed general gow's comment too. Carry the torch. Difficult at best but those who do never seem to address that. It just keeps burning.
I began my careeer as a sign guy working as an aprentice for a crusty old east coaster that had moved out to La and started a sign shop. I learned by being the brush cleaner, pattern pouncer, panel background painter, coffee fetcher until one day I got to pick up a brush and start painting. I worked for so little that I had to rent rooms or sleep in old campers in backyards for the first few years. I can relate to the video on several levels; as a sign guy and as someone that still appreciates the old way of doing somthing. I have been in the sign business over 30 years now and had not picked up my brushes for many years until recently when I decided to letter my old International van. I remember what I was draw to all those years ago. Thanks Ryan.
My Uncle raised a family of six children doing that for a living... one cousin followed suit and both of those guy's idea of retirement was not to climb ladders anymore... but to continue hand painting signs in their garages until they die!
Definitely enjoyed the video! It's sad and so prevalent these days. Just think of how many skilled trades have been "lost" in the last 100 years due to automation. Lost arts in themselves. I stumbled across this photo of an ad for Forest City Auto Parts. I wish I lived near it so I could take a photo of my car underneath it before it's gone.
Watching that video took me back to my time at Pasadena City College and the SignArts class that I took . The teacher was an old sign guy from the 30's who not only was a great teacher , but a trully inspirational man in the way that he would take the time to explain and let you work thru what ever lesson you were learning . His name was Francis Baker , but everyone called him , Pete . Now, after 30 plus years in the lettering and pinstriping craft , I still to this day reflect back to his teachings of not just how to paint , but life in general. Thanks Ryan for the little trip down memory lane .
Bad Bob......i did work on the Shaq wall, that was a Nike ad, Wilshire & Western in West L.A. Measured 82' wide X 280' high, top of the building is 300'. It took me almost 2 weeks to make the pattern for that design, at the time it was the worlds largest sports ad!
The Jalopy Journal
