Learning to sign paint

Traditional sign painting has always appealed to me - the craftsmanship, skill and the visual beauty of perfectly painted lettering - it lights me up. Earlier this year I decided to give this long admired craft a go myself…

After hearing of numerous sign painting courses going on around the country, I decided to find one for myself and give one a go. With the UK newly out of lockdown I signed up to a week-long, one-to-one tuition with legendary sign painter, Terry Smith. Staying onsite in a cool little cabin nestled next door to his studio, I was taught the foundations of the trade before being packed off home with the insight necessary to continue my sign painting journey.

The basics

First up I was shown how to hold the brush properly. This was easier said than done. Terry showed me how the brush should be placed between my thumb and middle finger, whilst using my index finger for control and stability when rotating the brush on curves. What seemed like such a simple grip at first, for me, was extremely hard and frustrating to master! 

Once I had a sense of how to grip my brush, I needed something to paint. Terry instructed me to sketch out a simple Gill Sans alphabet – once lettered it was time to start painting. To begin with I painted simple lines in the middle of each letter, which gave me a feel of the brush and of how each letter is formed. Next, I moved on to mark the outline of each letter - these lines tapered towards the top and bottom, which is achieved by a simple twist of the brush. 

Once lined, I went back and fill the inside of each of the letters. This process, although at first hugely frustrating, ended up being very relaxing and cathartic - I would get lost in the process and losing myself here is what has drawn me to continue with this passion project. It’s a million miles away from designing on screen and I love it for that!

Painting straight lines was enjoyable and kind of straightforward, the rest of the alphabet though is made up of a mixture of curves and diagonals, which weren’t anywhere near as easy! This meant practicing the technique I mentioned earlier of twisting the brush between your thumb, index and middle finger whilst pulling it across the surface following the line. I found this technique very hard to get my head around and it’s taken a lot of practice to master since returning home from the course. 

Advanced techniques

Once I had been shown the sign painting fundamentals and had a chance to practice them, Terry showed me a few of the more advanced techniques found within sign painting – the various lettering styles – scripts, serifs and casual lettering, along with finishes such as drop shadows and gold leafing, I had a go at it all. The possibilities really are endless, which makes pursuing this craft a really exciting prospect.

Sadly for me I didn’t leave the course as a certified sign painter but I did leave with a desire to continue my journey and that’s what it was about. I set out to challenge myself, learn a new skill and hopefully add another string to my bow. I would love to one day be able to offer sign painting as a service to my clients. 

But until then, I’m happy to keep practicing in my studio, making mistakes and learning from them. Since returning home I’ve kept practicing on my own lettered pieces and I have already seen huge improvements in my output, which is all the encouragement I need to continue.

If you wanna take a chance on a rookie sign painter in the making then I’d love to work with you! They say you improve the fastest working on real live projects ‘cause you can’t afford to make any mistakes, so let’s give it a try! - rich@richcstudio.co.uk