Events

Sign Painting in the Sun: Benelux Letterheads 2023

Sign painting, panel jamming, and more photos from the Benelux Letterheads sign painters gathering.

Better Letters

Nov 23, 2023 • 9 min read

Work-in-progress from Rob Van den Berghe at Painting Bear Sign Co.

The heatwave that swept Europe at the beginning of September coincided with 50 sign painters gathering in Brussels for Benelux Letterheads 2023 (@beneluxletterheads). There's an event review in BLAG 04, but here's a photo essay to give a flavour of what went down.

The meet was hosted by Francois Tusseki (@francoistusseki), and the photos here are mainly from Ben Boisacq from ACHROMAT (@achromat.studio).

As always, look out for future Letterheads meets on the event listings page, and more reviews of past events at bl.ag online.

Getting on the Brush

Letterheads is all about the learning, and 'newbies' are always welcome. In Brussels, those with less sign painting experience were guided by Peter Snijders at Bold Statements (@boldstatements.nl) who got them on the brush and painting letters, shades and shadows.

Students at a table listening to an instructor talking about painting letters and lettering effects. — Class in session with Peter Snijders. Photo: Ben Boisacq, ACHROMAT (@achromat.studio)

Peter Snijders and the introductory session at Benelux Letterheads. Photos: Ben Boisacq, ACHROMAT (@achromat.studio)

Mural Painting

Across the three-day event, Sebastian Karbowiak from Kompagnon Letters (@kompagnon.letters) and a small team collaborated to paint a mural that was then 'ghosted' on the final day.

Sebastian Karbowiak gets going on the mural. Photos: Ben Boisacq, ACHROMAT (@achromat.studio)'s '

Work-in-progress on Sebastian Karbowiak's mural, with Camille Vinck (@lettrages_camillevinck) and Cédric Van Herck (@buenaondacreations) joining the team.

Hand-painted mural in a ghost sign style with the wording 'Hand Paint. Letterheads. Benelux. 2023. IOAFS.' — Ghosted, and finished.

Panel Jamming

As always, the beating heart of the meet is the freestyle sign painting on panels, paper, and anything that will stay still long enough to be painted.

More paint and panels at Benelux Letterheads.

Paint Station

Sign painters need to keep their brushes wet, and so the paint station fulfils a function like that of a water cooler in an office; it's a place that new friends are made, advice is given, and gossip shared. It's also quite a photogenic place...

People and their paint at Benelux Letterheads. Photos: Ben Boisacq, ACHROMAT (@achromat.studio)

Sign Painting Goods

In addition to the standard-issue goodie bag, there's usually a busy trade in stickers, t-shirts, and other sign painting/painter merchandise—my sticker haul filled three full pages of my album!

T-shirts on show at Benelux Letterheads: Alex Signpainting (@alex.signpainting); Metro Gustavo (@metrogustavo); K. Harper Signs (@kharpersigns).

From left: me and Jasper (@paintedbyjasper), the first time that two of the *Sign Painting* book team have been together since it was published; Peter Snijder's (@boldstatements.nl) birthday presents for yours truly; and a hand-cut letter 's' from the Crickx Research Group.

Dapper Signs Tributes

The Paris mural-painting collective Lettres Capitales (@lettrescapitales) produced a tribute to Dapper Signs' James Cooper who had only died a couple of weeks before the meet. Others painted panels, and all the proceeds from the auction went to support Cooper's family.

Work-in-progress on the Dapper Signs tribute mural from Lettres Capitales. Photos: Ben Boisacq, ACHROMAT (@achromat.studio)

Hand-painted mural that reads "Rest Easy. Dapper Signs. Legends Never Die". — The final Dapper Signs tribute mural from Lettres Capitales. Photo: Ben Boisacq, ACHROMAT (@achromat.studio)

Dapper Signs panels from Pieter Snijders (@boldstatements.nl), Ash Willerton (@ashwillerton), and Tim Tim Sake (@tim_sake_lastplak)

Going, Going, Gone!

With paint still drying on lots of work, the auction got into full swing on Sunday afternoon, raising over 2,800€ for Dapper Signs' family.

Panels and more up for grabs in the Benelux Letterheads auction. Photos: Ben Boisacq, ACHROMAT (@achromat.studio)

Sign Spotting

One benefit of Letterheads meets is that you're with a load of sign painters, lettering artists, and sign painting enthusiasts that also want to stop and take photos of signs. On the Saturday morning, a few of us took a slow wander through the streets of Brussels on the way to the meet.

Some of the signs of all kinds spotted in Brussels, including the private parking and no publicity signs from host Francois Tusseki (@francoistusseki), found on the entrance to our accommodation.

I also got to see one of the sign painter vehicles featured at bl.ag online. It belongs to Hans Geyens who is in the process of rebranding as Señor Color (@senorcolorporfavor), so expect some new livery work in the near future...

Hans Geyens Sidio Moderne branding on his vehicle, and the new Señor Color on his kit box.

Host with the Most

Francois Tusseki (@francoistusseki) pulled off hosting the meet with aplomb. He appeared completely relaxed throughout, and even sat down to paint on a few occasions. Everything was top notch, from the venue to the catering to the overall atmosphere. Bravo!