37 April / May 2023 - Issue 246 email: news@signlink.co.uk in a dire state; there was very little work and it was still mostly invisible to the public”. This, and the stories he was relaying to them about “a massive gap in generational knowledge”, spurred the directors on to produce the documentary. With Ira’s help, they tracked down the first few sign painters to interview, with each interview opening up new leads to follow across the USA. One of the later interviews was with Mike Meyer, which came about because so many others had said they had to speak to him. “I was, and still am, very honoured” says Meyer, a sentiment echoed by Roderick Treece for whom it was “quite frankly an honour to finally have someone consider what you’ve spent your life doing as worthy of such attention”. Bob Dewhurst didn’t feel he belonged in the film, but was swayed once he understood that it wasn’t “an exposition of who’s the best sign painter, just about what kind of people became sign painters, and what their world was about”. He says that the film gave him and the trade a greater sense of “pride and enthusiasm”, and that it “had a great effect on public appreciation of hand-painted signs”. The impact of the film on the work of some of its stars was also notable. For Meyer it “put me in a position to do something I didn’t know I could do: teach sign painting”. Wozniak recalls that “it ultimately allowed me to take the leap and quit construction” while, for Norma Jeanne Maloney, “at the age of 50 I was finally making a living with my brush”. Coyne also saw his fortunes change with “the book and movie making the trade sustainable for me for the first time ever”. ▲Scores of custom publicity pieces were produced for the film. Pictured: a publicity designed and painted by Mark Oatis for the 2013 Las Vegas premiere. Image courtesy of Mark Oatis ADVENTURES IN SIGN PAINTING WITH SAM ROBERTS ▲ Publicity for the 2014 London screenings painted by Ash Bishop at Brilliant Signs and Mark Josling of Spectrum Signs. Photograph: A.J. Levy I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to those in the film that are no longer with us: Keith Knecht who died while it was being made, and Robert Curry, Justin Green, and Doc Guthrie in the intervening decade. The next generation Many of Sign Painters’ stars talk of the bridges it built between themselves and others in the trade, including those following a new path having seen the film. Damon Styer at San Francisco’s New Bohemia Signs explains: “One of my painters, Shinya, came here eight years ago to intern. This was on account of the film. He later flew me to Tokyo to run a workshop, and now he’s back in San Francisco working for me.” Phil Vandervaart’s advice to those starting out today is to “learn to give a good finished product before you worry about the money, and get over your ego which automatically gets wrapped up in the money”. And Treece reflects on the dream that can be realised through a life in sign painting: “Having Sam [Macon] and Faythe [Levine] come along with their dream helped spark great memories of a lifetime of creating cool things. “Of living a dream of being on your own, working and playing on your own terms. I see so many young people today that are trying to live the dream, and I wish them all the best.” Websites: www.bl.ag and www.ghostsigns.co.uk Social Media: @betterletters (instagram) @ghostsigns (twitter) @mrghostsigns (instagram) ▼ A still from the Sign Painters film showing Sean Barton lettering with a mahl stick and sign painting brush
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