Better Letters - BLAG Magazine: Adventures in Sign Painting Craft, Community & Culture

Street sign for Allen Street, W.8. in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Places

'Classifying Signs' by Harry Leeson

Class, taste, and the impact of street signs and public lettering policy on our built environments.

Window with gilded and shadowed sign in the upper portion, below which the sign painter is removing the pattern.

Field Notes

Field Notes from BLAG: February 2025

Pounce wheels, backwards letters, Spanish sign painters, and more goods and goodness from the field.

Warehouse space with scores of signs laid out, including many illuminated neon signs.

Films

Lisbon's Letreiro Galeria Glows in a Beautiful Short Film

Documenting Rita Múrias and Paulo Barata's tireless work to preserve a city's graphic heritage.

Black and white photo of a small group of people in a studio setting, engrossed in drawing and conversation.

Events

Is this a crazy idea?

Help give the Letterheads anniversary celebrations in June an international dimension...

Hand-drawn lettering in the style of a sign that reads "E. McLellan Signs".

Books

Bookish Good Luck at McLellan Signs in Nampa, Idaho

Jay Smith embraces serendipity to add to his library of sign painting and lettering books.

Partly finished painting of a man painting on a pictorial element on a window using sign painting tools..

BLAG

The BLAG 06 Digital Companion

Bonus content from the adventures in sign painting in Issue 06 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine).

BLAG

What's Inside Issue 06 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine?

Between the covers of the worldwide adventures in sign painting from Issue 06 of BLAG.

Person holding a vintage suitcase with hand-painted lettering that says "Bread & Salt".

Field Notes

Field Notes from BLAG: January 2025

Assorted adventures in sign painting from around the world, via the desk of BLAG editor Sam Roberts.

Woman painting pink Roman letters onto a light olive-green wall.

People

Getting (Back) Into It for 2025

Advice on getting into the craft of sign painting from five people who have done just that.

Photo from from the air of a hot air balloon hand-painted with Renaissance-inspired art.

People

From Billboards to Balloons: Charlie Markert's Sky High Art

A career as a billboard pictorial artist paved the way into the niche of hot air balloon painting.

BLAG

BLAG's Top Ten Adventures in Sign Painting for 2024

Round-up of the year's most popular articles from the adventures in sign painting at bl.ag online.

Array of nine pictures with sign painting and lettering themes.

Events

Watch the Recordings from BLAG Meet Inside Issue 05

Six hours of talks, interviews, studio visits, and demonstrations from contributors to BLAG 05.

View from behind a man painting a shadow onto a letter 'P' on a sign.

Events

Martre Meets Again, and the Competition is Fierce

Sign painters collaborate on a series of shopfronts for the second Martre gathering in France.

People

Irish Mosaics: From Roscommon to the World

Vanessa Power gets inspired by Thomas Kilroe, the creative force behind Roscommon's Irish Mosaics.

BLAG 07: An Invitation to Contribute

Paint a panel, share a memory, and be a part of a special issue of BLAG to mark five decades of the Letterheads.

A woman holding a baby that's looking at painted lettering that says 'we rise by lifting others'.

Events

The Burds Are Back in Town, and It's Bristol

Tozer Signs hosts the third Burds of the Brush meet with a Halloween theme in Bristol, UK.

Panel from a comic showing two lovers discussing a sign ('Amore, I ❤️ U') that the man has painted for the woman.

Films

Now Streaming: Married to Comics by John Kinhart

Comic artists Justin Green and Carol Tyler profiled in this feature-length documentary.

A bar with bottles of beer on shelves in a window display, and hand-painted lettering on the fascia basking in sunlight.

Places

Signwriting-on-Sea: The Rich Craft Heritage of Hastings, East Sussex

Charlie Nelson on Hasting's signwriting history, and how the town continues to embrace the craft.