Letterheads: A Meeting of the Sign Painting Minds
Three days of lettering mayhem at the American Sign Museum.
Hello friends,
June’s issue of The Anvil comes sneaking in at the very end of the month, but my excuse is that I was waiting to write about attending Letterheads for the first time: an annual meet-up of sign painters, pinstripers, and letterers from around the world for seminars, panel jams, on-site murals, portfolio sharing, and more.
Held at the American Sign Museum, Letterheads hasn’t been hosted in the USA since the 40th anniversary in 2015—also at the Museum—and in those ten years, a whole new generation of sign painters has come to fruition. (I wrote about the American Sign Museum a few months ago, which you can read here.)
It’s hard to put into words what the weekend was like. I am resisting the pressure I too-often place on myself to recap an experience like a journalist, treating my memories as material I need to record and condense succinctly. Trying to figure out my “story.” It’s something I want to resist with The Anvil as a whole, although it tends to creep its way into my writing.
In inevitably thinking about my hook, I found that the golden thread running through the weekend was one of sincerity. Between those fresh out of Trade Tech to original Letterheads, everyone I encountered was sincere in their actions, presence, and commitment to the community. There was no gatekeeping; there wasn’t even a fence.
Social media has allowed sign painters to weave together a community, but the lack of physicality means some things get lost in translation. Intention and tone are flattened and brittle, exposing the untrained psyche to jealousy, envy, judgment, assumption. Opinions are formed based upon a small, illusory performance of who someone is; online, we are all condensed into a few keywords, a vibe, an aesthetic.
I think vlogging and personal storytelling content is an attempt to break through it, but it’s time-consuming and hard work—hats off to those who do it, and even more, enjoy it—and still, you cannot escape the funnel of judgment and misinterpretation.
But it’s all an illusion. Because in the physical world, in Cincinnati, Ohio, at Letterheads, turns out everyone is just… Kind. Talented. Passionate. Happy. Things are simple. A better way to gild is shared and we all feverishly scribble wisdom into our notebooks.
We know, whether it’s spoken out loud or not, that if everyone gets better at sign painting and gilding because of some new tips, our work gets better; if our work gets better, more businesses will take note and commission hand-painted work; if more talented sign painters are out painting, the world becomes more beautiful and filled with wonder. And in our commitment to painting techniques that span centuries, we force the world of today to slow down.
Being in competition with other sign painters is never the way. Being in alliance is.
Anyway. Enough of the serious crap. Here are some fun moments from the weekend that stuck with me.
Roman Letters
David Kynaston hosted a seminar on Roman lettering, kicking it off with the letters found at the base of Trajan’s Column, which are “widely considered the archetype of Roman capitals” (Letterform Archive). He walked us through his sign portfolio and his primary business of painting letterboards in ¾” and ½” Roman letters, popular in the UK. At the end, he squeezed in a quick demo, making it look much easier than it is. Also, every time David was excited or shocked about a story he was telling, he would clasp his hands on his face Home Alone style, and it was really quite charming.
Fooling the Eye
One evening I hung out with John Cox, who showed me some carved wood signs he made in college, including this folded polo shirt (made of wood), and basketball (also wood). He taught a seminar on aging signs. “The devil is in the details,” he said—one of his tricks was to drill holes, then cut into them as though they had broken after years of being hung, and then drill new holes next to them, as if the sign was then reinstalled.
Letterhead Legends
Original Letterheads like Noel Weber and Mark Oatis. Legends like Bob Behounek, John Downer, Dave Smith. Countless more than I can name here. How do you introduce yourself to someone whose work you’ve ogled at in books for years, to see them suddenly in front of you? In my experience, poorly, with something unremarkable like “I am such a fan of your work.” Better than nothing.
We were all invited to sign two old brushes from our kits as part of a ceremony honoring Mark and Noel. Thanks to a very small brush, I was able to pull this off:
Wood Graining
I didn’t expect to be pulled toward wood graining, but it was a sleeper hit of the weekend for me. I quite literally sniffed it out because Robert was using malt vinegar mixed with pigments for his wood panel, which I initially thought was on the table as a relic from lunch. His seminar on reverse graining on glass was a revelation, and I am itching to use it in a project as soon as I can.
Surface Gilding
Gregg Heger led a simultaneously hilarious and endlessly useful seminar on surface gilding, which is when you paint size (adhesive) on a surface, wait for it to dry to the right level of tack, and then apply gold leaf and burnish (rub) it to the effect you want to achieve. Sounds simple on paper, is extremely fiddly in reality. My favorite part was his DIY burnishing pad, featuring velvet crudely taped onto a hunk of foam. I made my own the moment I got back and it is, truly, the best way to burnish gold.
Original Sketches from Beverly Sign Co.
One of the greatest influences on American sign culture was the firm Beverly Sign Co., known for their bold graphics and panelization. You can learn more about them here, and through the new book by Heavy Pages Press. I got to touch original sketches, and then wonder why I was being allowed to touch original sketches.
Trade Tech Crew
This photo represents almost everyone at Letterheads who once attended the Sign Graphics program at Los Angeles Trade Tech. Special appearance by Doc’s shirt he wore to teach class. Go Beavers!
Two-Faced Genie
Somehow I never realized the massive genie signs, which came all the way from Carpeteria, California, are two-sided. No back, no butt. Just an endless faceoff into the abyss. The longer I stared, the more it seemed to emanate a strange sentience. Scary!
Panels
Here are some of my favorite panels that were painted throughout the weekend by various sign painters. I, however, hardly picked up a brush from a combination of exhaustion, cramming in as many seminars as I could, and honestly, after seeing what people were painting, a bit of “yeaaaaah I don’t think I can match this, skill-wise,” lol.
Local Sights
Some houses and architecture details that had me going “They don’t make ‘em like this in California.”
Misc Moments
A pinstriper’s set-up, a precarious easel situation, Elaine Wallis’ amazing faux album painting that honors the original Letterheads, and the signature of the late Doc Guthrie (and his brother Don), my former teacher and friend, signing in to the 1984 Letterheads meet in Santa Cruz. <3
And Other Memories
Friends, sign vans, and signing the brick wall.
Okay, that concludes the last time I’ll be talking about Ohio this year…I think. Onwards!
The Quench Tank
In keeping with the theme of The Anvil and the figurative blacksmith shop of my mind, the Quench Tank is my version of water cooler talk where I debrief on what’s happening lately in my world.
The latest issue of BLAG, Better Letters Magazine, is also all things Letterheads. Sick of it yet? The masthead of the seventh issue is replaced with IOAFS, a cheeky sign painting saying that stands for “It’s Only a Fucking Sign.” Give it a Google if you want to know more about what that means, or subscribe to BLAG at the Printer tier (or the next tiers up if you’re feeling it) to get a physical copy in the mail.
This is the biggest issue I’ve edited to date, and while it’s filled with great stories, I think my favorite thing might be the dust jacket that folds out as a poster of Noel Weber’s painting, with his pencil sketch on the reverse.
Sam, the publisher and writer of BLAG, gifted me a copy of Justin Green’s Sign Game, which is the best comic book I’ve ever read.
I also updated my shop website with new Shop Rags, featuring some of my paintings, as well as a handful of paper signs. Shop here!
I think next month I won’t talk about signs, for once. Maybe I’ll talk about something like topiary instead, or the parrots that hang out on top of the cypresses next door.
Thanks, as ever, for reading. Comments make me feel SEEN and HEARD, so sound off on literally anything below.
xo
Jenna
Doc's signature :') Ty for sharing!!