Some of my old work back in the day before the evil computer

[SignManiac]

I found that sniffing paint thinners all day induced a variety of images which I used in my sign work. The tactile experience one gets with the brush is akin to an erotic dance with the paint pixies that would fly around in my head. I'm sure Dan can relate to the elation one derives from this near spiritual experience!

These are some of my very old works that were hand painted before computer. Most are painted on MDO or sandblasted redwood. The Bostwick's sign is 1/2" plywood, completely flat. The gold is 23k hand spun and outlined and the artwork and ribbon panel are airbrushed. The skydiving piece is from a photograph of my friends I use to jump with. The plane is our old Cessna.

The signs I make today are not real, they just look that way because they are made from artificial pixels. I sold my soul to the devil and he's had his way with me. I will probably have a digital head stone printed for my grave when I die. The government is plotting against me, I just know this.

 

[J Hill Designs]

great stuff!

 

[Marlene]

nice work as always!

The signs I make today are not real, they just look that way because they are made from artificial pixels. I sold my soul to the devil and he's had his way with me. I will probably have a digital head stone printed for my grave when I die. The government is plotting against me, I just know this.

just having a 'puter doesn't make a person talented. the 'puter is just one more tool like a brush or a router so it all comes down to talent, which you have no lack of. stand proud my friedn, you have not sold your soul, only moved on to a new tool to express your talents.

 

[AUTO-FX]

wow, cool "dan" !!! and that u-pull-it sign is flippin sweet!!! easy on the meds though, dont want to wreck a good thing...

-Chris

 

[Williams Signs]

Like the boobie in the crow's nest sign.

 

[Billct2]

Great stuff! some of them look familar...any chance they appeared in SignCraft?

 

[SignManiac]

Nope Bill, never once submitted any work to the mags. Just some old stuff I had stored from the early days.

Thought I would have some fun poking Freehandan...Shucks he's gone already. He will be sorely missed....NOT

 

[Gino]

Nope Bill, never once submitted any work to the mags. Just some old stuff I had stored from the early days.

Thought I would have some fun poking Freehandan...Shucks he's gone already. He will be sorely missed....NOT

When the heck did this happen ?? Not to be a , but what did he do to get banned ??

He was annoying, but unless he did something behind the scenes or composed a thread so bad he got walloped off of here.... what gives ?? He was a very interesting specimen............

 

[SignManiac]

He pretty much slammed and insulted Fred in Fred's house. I think he was pushing as hard as he could to get banned. It's one thing to diss the members here, but you don't dare disrespect Fred. He does not deserve that at all.

 

[signmeup]

Nice work. Love the flying fish!

 

[Si Allen]

Guess ol'Freehanddan was correct ... you don't need a computer to make outstanding signs!



:ROFLMAO:

 

[SignManiac]

LOL Si, not sure Freehanddan was correct about much of anything. Especially his conspiracy theories.

All I know is that I painted a ton of signs with 1-shot and quills and enjoyed the pictorial work the most.

 

[Just Me]

love the u pull it sign, pretty awesome indeed!

 

[Ponto]

I started in the "biz" coating boards for guys with similar talents and was able to witness the "craft" firsthand while they brought the boards to life.....your images bring back memories and display real talent as well...........thanks!

JP

 

[Jim Doggett]

nice work as always!



just having a 'puter doesn't make a person talented. the 'puter is just one more tool like a brush or a router so it all comes down to talent, which you have no lack of. stand proud my friedn, you have not sold your soul, only moved on to a new tool to express your talents.

+1 to that Marlene! My friend Greg Reid (http://www.reidsigns.com/site/?page_id=10) was pretty active in the Letterheads meets back in the day. And he was branded a heretic for buying a vinyl cutter when they gained popularity.

But talent + technology = uhhhhmazing

IMHO,

Jim

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

Those are all outstanding, full of life and interest and readable.
Like your pictures as well very nice indeed.
I'm amazed you don't use the brush more often.

 

[SignManiac]

To be honest Craig, it's because I'm lazy and don't enjoy ruining all of my clothes from being covered in paint. I enjoyed hand lettering when I started but found it too limiting with regards to turning out volume work for more money. A one man painter can only produce x amount of dollars in an hour, a week, or a month. I got into business to make good money and that's still the focus of my business.

I still have all of my chisels and can hand carve all my signs or run the router table and do in one hour what would take eight hours by hand. It all comes down to time and time is money and the time we have on earth is even more limited. I want to get the most out of this journey and have realized that tools can make you more productive.

My quills are a tool, my printers and routers are tools. To me, the real enjoyment is in the creative design process, not so much the production. I chalk it up to evolution and progress. I'm continually evolving and don't want to limit myself to never adapting to the latest and greatest way to make a sign. I'll use anything that gets the job done as long the end result looks fantastic! I'm a tortured soul. I'm a bit of an egomaniac but I don't want my ego to get in the way of improving my business or my skills. I struggle with that.

 

[fmg]

Some really nice pieces of work you have there!

 

[chopper]

SignManiac,
some really nice work....I was more into truck lettering in my paint sniffin' days...
I am saddened that freebasindan has been banned.
and I missed out on it... but I knew it was inevitable, I thought I might share some pics of some of the old stuff I did, the best buy and grabel were done with a partner of mine , the best buy is from when they first started out...










//chopper

 

[SignManiac]

Chopper that's some nice work! I did a ton of vehicles back then too.. I didn't mind knocking out a one off custom, but hated lettering fleet work that was the same all the time. I had a mountain of pounce patterns back in the day. I still have my pounce wheels somewhere.