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.

Better Letters

Dec 26, 2024 • 10 min read

Ten images in a 5 x 2 array featuring a mixture of people and sign painting and lettering themes.

2024 was my second full calendar year working on BLAG, having launched in April 2022. It's now six issues in (BLAG 06 ships in January), and things like the shop are now well-established, while BLAG Meet has become a staple for each issue. I continue to experiment with the BLAG Forum as a private space for members away from social media, but know that there is more potential to be realised there.

All of this is made possible by those that pay for my work, and I'm happy to have welcomed around 100 new members over the last twelve months. I'm looking forward to the next year, and continuing to steadily grow and connect the community through the publication.

Top Ten 2024

The bl.ag online site now has well in excess of 200 articles and features straddling a broad range of sign painting and lettering topics. Just like 2022 and 2023, I've worked through the analytics to identify the ten most popular across the calendar year. Strictly, this should include pieces relating to BLAG back issues, but I've omitted these to keep the focus on stand-alone articles.

However, I have included the three articles that made it two years running in the Top Ten, while Larry Stammer's piece for 'lefties' is the only piece to make three successive appearances in the extended Top Twenty: go lefties!

It's been a pleasure to publish a variety of new contributors this year, and these are represented in the Top Ten below, which is once again dominated by the Learning and People categories. While some of the other categories might not feature, I will continue to maintain the breadth of what's published, as well as the international focus; both are important to me and what I'm doing with the publication.

So, without further ado, here are the top ten bl.ag online articles for 2024, in reverse order...

10. Doc Guthrie: A Tribute

Few have made a greater impact on contemporary sign painting than Doc Guthrie, and this extended tribute tells his story. (In fact, that influence is felt in this Top Ten, with two of the articles penned by LATTC alumni.)

Man in glasses and a work uniform. — Doc Guthrie in his LATTC Uniform. Photo: Mike Languein.

9. Tips for Left-Handed Sign Painters from Larry Stammers

Larry's timeless article proves left-handedness should be no barrier to becoming a sign painter, provided you learn how to mitigate against some of the challenges it presents.

Instruction poster for casual sign painter lettering. — Strokes from Larry's guide for Lefties.

8. Meet Earl Phillips: Cleveland's Greatest Living Sign Painter

Some sign painters become an institution in their locale, none more so than Earl Phillips, whose story is captured in a wonderful biopic.

Man sitting in front of a shopfront which is emblazoned with a huge fascia sign that reads "SIGNS". — Earl Phillips in 2018. Photo: John Skrtic.

7. Getting Into It: Sign Painters' Stories Around the World

There's no single route into the trade these days, and Lauren Kerbel's piece profiles the journeys of six different sign painters around the world.

Woman in a baseball cap focused on painting blue lettering in reverse on a window. — Michelle 'Meng' Nguyen is one of the six sign painters that tell us how they got into all this.

6. Ye Olde Sign Shoppe: George Biles, King of Signwriters

The stories of individual sign painters and sign shops are a personal favourite of mine, and the account of George Biles' life and work was a very special one to work on.

Elderly man posing with a painter's palette in front of a 'Welcome to Bridport' sign that he's working on. The sign features a combination of lettering and pictorial elements, which includes the text 'Twinned with Sant Vaast-la-Hougue' and 'Please Drive Carefully'. The picture is of a queen on a throne in a flowing dress and gown, and arched windows behind with sea views. There are also two coats of arms flanking the main lettering at the top. — George Biles' work-in-progress on a 'Welcome to Bridport' sign.

Also check out the retrospective exhibition of George Biles' work that was held in Bridport in August 2024.

5. How to Prepare MDO Plywood for Sign Painting

Agustin McCord's step-by-step is once again in the Top Ten, up from eighth place last year. (The latest on his blog is 'Repainting a Sand Blasted Sign'.)

Hand holding a tin of spackling paste and spackling knife. — Learn more about spackling paste in Agustin's guide.

4. Where Can I Learn the Craft of Sign Painting?

This guide to ways to learn the craft includes listings of regular workshop providers around the world. The 'Events Roundup' email list is then where I share details of other events of note.

Liane Barker's workshops and online courses are profiled in the feature on ways to learn the craft of sign painting.

3. The Basics of Letter Shades: Left, Right, Up and Down

Erwin Indrawan's guide continues to prove most useful, explaining the fundamentals of letter shades in a clear and accessible way.

Graphic with lettering the reads "Which shade direction is best for lettering? Left vs Right". — Find out in Erwin Indrawan's guide.

2. Why Lead Paint Makes Signs Last: A Toxic Legacy

After years of seeking an explanation for this phenomenon, Jill Strong answered the call with this extended feature on the legacy of lead.

Hand holding a tin of paint with a label in black and white on light blue. — Loaded with lead: 1 Shot Light Green. From Jill Strong's feature on lead paint.

1. Intro to Foundational Sign Painting Strokes: The Gothic Alphabet

And top spot in this year's list of the most popular bl.ag online articles goes to Jenna Homen's guide to the strokes of the Gothic alphabet.

Instructional sheet showing key curved strokes used to construct letters, with notes towards the bottom on the use of negative space in forming them. — Strokes and variants for painting curves from Jenna Homen's Gothic guide.

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