Learning

Watch Cheryl McLean's Blackboard Art Seminar from LH50

Blackboard art tips, tricks, and techniques shared in a pre-recorded session for Letterheads 50.

Better Letters

Aug 28, 2025 • 3 min read

Cheryl McLean is a prolific and successful Blackboard artist from Sydney, Australia.

Versus previous issues, the bonus content for BLAG 07, the Letterheads special, is spread across a series of posts. This final instalment is an opportunity to watch the Blackboard Art seminar from Cheryl McLean at Letterheads 50.

The '50 Big Ones' feature in BLAG 07 charts the history of the Letterheads movement from its beginnings in Denver, Colorado, to its expansion around the world, including the vibrant 'chapters' in Australia and New Zealand.

One of the personal reflections from the '50 Big Ones' feature in BLAG 07, the Letterheads special, came from Cheryl McLean who runs Blackboard Art in Sydney, Australia. The thrust of her piece is about the impact that saying 'yes' has had on her Letterheads journey, and she closes with:

"Once again, I’ve said ‘yes’ to another exciting challenge by accepting the invitation to present a seminar at the 50th anniversary Letterheads in Cincinnati. This will be the pinnacle of my career — as well as a real hoot! — and an honour to give back to the industry, and share the passion and purpose that inspired the original founders of Letterheads."

Shortly before she was due to fly out to Cincinnati, however, Cheryl's husband Murray required major surgery. So that she could be with him as he recovered, she therefore took the difficult and devastating decision not to travel.

However, Cheryl did find time to pre-record a seminar for presentation at the event, which I had the honour of introducing. I reflected on meeting at Mike Meyer's Mazeppa Mardi Gras meet, the road trip that we took together after the 40th in 2015, and collaborating on the organisation and promotion of Cheryl's workshops in the years that followed.

Cheryl is keen that her seminar reaches as many people as possible, and so I offered to host it here at bl.ag online. She recommends watching the 50-minute video with a pencil and sketchbook in hand, and the vinyl blackboard product she talks about is Neschen easy dot® Chalkboard black.

Watch the Video

Cheryl McLean's Blackboard Art seminar for Letterheads 50 was produced by her nephew Nathan Barlow.

Thank you to Cheryl, Murray, and Nathan for sharing this video. If you want to learn even more, then check out this extended article that Cheryl wrote for SignCraft.

Watch Cheryl McLean's Blackboard Art Seminar from LH50

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