I've been designing signs all week: a new marquee for my church, signs for a children's department, and a seasonal house sign. The seasonal house sign is being done the old-fashioned way: with paint brushes. Here's a look:
Base coated with cream colored satin paint. (Sherwin Williams "Chopsticks")
My client has chosen a "Spring" theme for this one. 5 or 6 more will follow so they can be changed out seasonally. She suggested tulips and a watering can...so here the design has been drawn in and based with the general colors.
Adding shadows and highlights starts to make the design come to life.
Now I start to add some basic tulip foliage and pencil in some ovals where the blooms will go.
Red and yellow tulips will stand out from the roadway. Tulips are pretty easy flowers to paint: start with the ovals and add some details. These will be seen from the roadway at 35 mph so I'm not going to detail these as much as something viewed close up.
I've added shadows and highlights to the leaves and flowers, and added some dark tones at the base of the can and pot to anchor them to the ground. Then I painted the exact same thing on the other side, since it will be seen from both directions. All that is left is to add the lettering (address) to the top portion, and seal it.
Elapse time so far: about 6 hours, including coming up with the design.
The lettering part isn't as fun as the painting the pretty part. I usually print off the letters/numbers in the size and font that I want. Then I use transfer paper, placed underneath the printed paper, and trace around the letters. Then I fill in the transferred pattern with paint. This always takes forever, because it has to be level and perfect. It will take me another 3-4 hours to do the lettering and seal it, and I hope to finish that today.
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Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
