What’s that stick thing in your hand?
I say this with utmost confidence: any sign painter who uses a mahl stick has heard some variation of that question while out on the job.
Now look, anyone can ask me a question. I don’t get mad at people for wanting to know when a business is opening, or if I work there, or if this is “really my full-time job.” It’s fine. It’s not that deep. Sign painting is a rare job! A new business opening is exciting!
However, there are some days when I’m in a cramped position, it’s hour six of painting, I’m feeling a little weird, and it’s the 34th time I’ve been asked the same question that day. Those are the times that yes, I will feel a spike of crankiness and have to remind myself to not be annoyed at a curious bystander.
But if someone asks me about my mahl stick, forget everything I just said, because suddenly I’m climbing off my ladder and putting down my brush. Oh, this old thing? You’re going to wish you never asked, because you’re about to get a historical rundown, my guy!
Okay, So…What is a Mahl Stick?
Nowadays, the mahl stick is commonly associated with sign painters, but many don’t realize that it has been a staple in the artist’s toolbox for centuries. It shows up in paintings and illustrations dating back to the mid-1500s, and was coined maalstok in the 1650s.
In its simplest form, the mahl stick (also referred to as a mahlstick, maulstick, maul stick, or artist’s hand rest) is a long sturdy stick; however, it typically consists of a wooden dowel or metal rod topped with a rounded, padded end.
It is held by the non-painting hand so that the painting hand can rest atop it, and has a plethora of benefits; for one, it allows you to maintain distance from your piece as you work on it, so you don’t accidentally smudge wet paint (or charcoal, pastel, and so on) with the side of your hand or arm. It simultaneously gifts you with a surface to rest your arm on and remain steady, otherwise your hand would just be hovering in air while you attempt to paint intricate details.
It can also aid in pulling straight lines or curves, because you can raise, lower, or slide the mahl stick while your painting hand is stationary. This is a bit difficult to explain, I fear, so you’re just going to have to trust me.
You can imagine why this is beneficial to sign painters, who often letter rows of text very close to each other while the paint remains wet. Even more, sign painters typically use oil-based enamel paint, which can take 2-5 hours to dry to the touch, and much longer to fully cure—factors that can range dramatically depending on how much mineral spirits you use to thin the paint, the weather, the surface, other additives, and even the paint’s color.
Examples in Art History
The more you look, the more you see examples of the mahl stick in practice throughout art history:
Note: Many of these examples were pulled from James Hall’s The Artist’s Studio, which Kurt McRobert of Very Fine Signs recommended to me ages ago. All books that I mention on Substack and are still in print can be found here!
You can also spot mahl sticks in use in old depictions of sign painters at work:
Not every sign painter chooses to wield one, instead entrusting a well-placed pinky finger to hold themselves steady, or follow the “hand-over-hand” method, placing their dominant hand over their other hand to stabilize. It’s a personal preference, and often situational—some areas you find yourself painting simply do not have the space for a mahl stick, so hand-over-hand it is.
Alas, in the dark depths of sign painting’s ego bro underbelly, a small handful of painters scoff at the use of a mahl stick, seeing it as “cheating.” I would love to see them scoff at Manet, Vermeer, or M.C. Escher for cheating at painting, too!
I, on the other hand, love my mahl stick. My first one was a wooden dowel with a champagne cork wrapped in cloth at the end, a tip that was passed on to me by Emmanuel Sevilla at a sign painting workshop in 2016 (he’s now one of the instructors at Los Angeles Trade Tech, along with Carlos Aguilar!). I now opt for a telescoping carbon fiber stick that is both lightweight and easy to pack—it’s no longer in production, but I got it from Alpha 6.
There are about a billion DIY methods to make your own. Golf clubs and bouncy balls are just the tip of the iceberg here; I’ll let this thread on the Hand Lettering Forum speak for itself.
My ideal painting set-up consists of my left hand holding a small palette with cups for my paint and mineral spirits, with my mahl stick resting in the gap between my thumb and forefinger. My right hand paints away, and a massage therapist fixes my back and shoulders later.
So there you have it. That’s what that stick thing is in my hand! Hope you find the history as interesting as I do.
Until next time,
Jenna