Adventures in Sign Painting: The Craft of Sign Painting

In a previous column (SignLink August/September 2023), I talked about the various ways to learn the craft of sign painting. While in-person guidance is hard to replace, there’s lots that can be absorbed via the printed word.

Here’s a digest of useful titles, new and old, that would form the start of a good reference library for any sign painting student.

Much like the sign painting trade itself, there was a decline in the number of books in print from the 1980s onwards. Many of these older titles can still be found in second-hand marketplaces, including Signwork by Bill Stewart, Sign Painting Techniques by Ralph Gregory, and one of the various editions of Practical Sign Shop Operation by Bob Fitzgerald.

E.C. Matthews’ Sign Painting Course is another classic and, although rare/expensive to find in hard copy, it can be accessed digitally via the archive.org website.

Fortunately, in line with sign painting’s recent resurgence, some new books have been published for those interested in learning its technical aspects. (Disclaimer: I was one of the team that produced Sign Painting by Mike Meyer & Friends.)

These three books are very much focused on the craft of sign painting itself. However, adjacent skills like lettering and layout are just as important as the ability to wield a brush.

One of the go-to layout titles within the trade is Mastering Layout by Mike Stevens, and there are numerous books that could be recommended for learning lettering, including the Lettering Manual by Ken Barber, The Golden Secrets of Lettering by Martina Flor, and The ABC of Custom Lettering by Ivan Castro.

A selection of these books will have your library well stocked, and then you’ll want to start seeking out publications rich in visual inspiration. However, this can come just as much from paying attention to our surroundings, including signs, packaging, ephemera, and printed matter in second-hand shops.

Sign Painting opens with a detailed breakdown of all the key tools and materials that the sign painter needs. This demystifies much of the confusing terminology that gets thrown around in the trade and differentiates between working with oil- and water-based paints.

The book then moves on to the various techniques that sign painters need in their work. This includes advice on a wide variety of substrates (surfaces) that signs can be painted on, as well as approaches to setting out signs and lettering. It then tackles the fundamentals of working with the brush.

The final part of the book is a collection of over 40 alphabets from sign painters and lettering artists around the world. Presented as double-page spreads, these should inspire new and old hands alike.
Veteran sign painter Mike Meyer offers numerous top tips throughout the book, including efficiency ‘hacks’, paint storage advice, uses for knackered old brushes, and more. To close, there is a detailed glossary, list of suppliers around the world, and further reading suggestions.

Signwriting Tips, Tricks and Inspiration is packed with Joby Carter’s expertise and work on his steam fair. It starts with a detailed look at seven key alphabets, with guidance on how to construct them and ways they can be used and adapted. This is supported by a general analysis of the letters of the alphabet and advice on layout, spacing, and scaling.

After notes on working with a brush, the book moves into step-by-step instructions on a variety of “fancy lettering” techniques. These include blocking, shadowing, and bevelling. There is also advice on more elaborate ornamentation and the use of colour.

The final sections cover more specialist areas, such as fairground art, coach painting, and lining. These, and everything else in the book, are illustrated with numerous examples of the signwriting found all over Carters Steam Fair. The result is an explosion of colour and inspiration across the book’s pages.

Since its publication in 2020, this book has been followed up with All the Fonts of the Fair by Joby Carter, which looks at the construction of 26 different alphabets in more detail.

For those interested in sign painting traditions from elsewhere in the world, The Book of Fileteado Porteño is an English language introduction to this vernacular art form from Buenos Aires, Argentina. It’s not a purely technical book, with chapters on the craft’s history, iconography, and contemporary practice sitting alongside the practical guide.

Alfredo Genovese also published El ABC del Fileteado Porteño in 2022 which, while in Spanish, contains lots of easy-to-follow instructions in what is a more detailed ‘how to’ publication.