Sneak preview of a little film project I've had bubbling away in the background:
It's going to be the fifth in the 'When Better Letters Met' series:
https://bl.ag/tag/when-better-letters-met/
Boosts appreciated for this 'pre-launch' page on the kickstarter that will go live next month 
"Everything I do, I try to make the next one better." — David Ybarra, sign painter and mural artist, San Diego, California
Highway robbery as 'Historic Idaho sign goes missing days before donation to Museum of Idaho':
From the latest edition of the SCA Weekly News:
https://sca-roadside.org/news-and-advocacy/
'Mr. Plywood Stands Proud Again: Recreating a Portland Icon' is the latest at bl.ag online. Visit https://bl.ag/mrplywood to learn more about Kirsten Bauer and Alina Radetsky's collaboration to replace a celebrity sign of 60 years' standing.
A painted 'krulletter', on the window of the smallest pub in Amsterdam: 'Café De Dokter' (18 sq. meters).
Lower name clearly by a different sign painter.
#signpainter #signpainting #amsterdam #publettering
Today I'm taking a moment to appreciate the fact that 600 people have decided my work on BLAG is worth paying for.
If that includes you, then thank you for backing me on these adventures in sign painting, which are now three years in the making.
If it's not you, then don't forget that folks here on the open social web can get a discount on joining via https://bl.ag/md20 . That includes the swift delivery of BLAG 06 (https://bl.ag/06).
One to check out online and in-person (Cincinnati) tomorrow, Thursday:
'The Golden Age of Sign Design: The Lost Sketches of Beverly Sign Co.'
Smoke a pipe, watch a menu board getting lettered — sounds like the life for me!
From the archive at Lauretano Sign Group, established in 1946: https://lauretano.com/about-us/
"When I open a can of paint, I just love how it looks; I almost want to drink it." — British artist Richard Wright on training to become a signwriter.
From the Art Newspaper (@theartnewspaper@bsky.social) interview here: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/03/28/richard-wright-when-i-open-a-can-of-paint-i-just-love-how-it-looks-i-almost-want-to-drink-it.
PS. I've added Wright to the list of 'celebrity' sign painters here: https://bl.ag/celebrity-signwriters-past-present/. Thanks as always to Tony Mead for the ongoing tip-offs.
J.S. Beekmann (1895-1986) was a highly regarded Dutch sign (and heraldic) painter. In the background a model of his Amsterdam script letter. The photo is by Paul Huf, as part of an advertising campaign for traditional craft beer.
#signpainting #signpainter #lettering #dutchlettering
One of the nice things about our new studio/office is these cabinets flanking the entranceway.
Today I had a go at making a little display in one of them.
@davidroessli It's a gorgeous book, with a special back story.
I got my signed copy via the Kickstarter, and BLAG 06 (https://bl.ag/06) has a feature by the authors about the wider influence of Beverly Sign Co.
Things you forget about in the excitement of adding 60% to the regular pagination of your magazine:
1. That's 60% more proofing in layout!
2. It'll be a much longer day on press in May.
But it's looking fabulous — even if I do say so myself — helped in no small part by the complete absence of advertising. That's thanks to BLAG members
PS. Pre-orders for this special issue of BLAG close this coming Monday: https://bl.ag/07.
Back in the Rijksmuseum Research Library (aka Cuypersbibliotheek) to have another look at the lettering book with alphabets by J. Weenink, 1843. Manuscript, no printed copy of it known. Weenink (1797-1879) was an Amsterdam letter- and decorative painter. Coll. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
#RijksmuseumResearchLibrary #letteringbooks #signpainting #signpainter #lettering #dutchlettering
Small sign from c. 1900, painted by J.W. Beekmann. Signs like this accompanied Amsterdam laundry that was washed outside the city (in cleaner water). Coll. Allard Pierson, UvA.
#signpainting #allardpierson
@matratype Just found this unboxing a few things at home.
It's a poster based on Pieter Snijders' Shaded Letters book, which no longer appears to be for sale on his site at https://www.bold-statements.com/.
'Ye Olde Sign Shoppe at the American Sign Museum' is the latest at bl.ag online, where I get to indulge my fetish for photos of old sign painting shops and related tangents.
https://bl.ag/ye-olde-sign-shoppe-at-the-american-sign-museum/
Pictured are the dapper fellows that once plied their trade at the Raiford Sign Co. in Houston, Texas.
Ooh look, BLAG's brilliant designers Utile Studio have a new website up and running. And the magazine is one of their case studies: https://www.utile.studio/project/blag.
