New Bohemia Signs Workshop
If you’ve ever admired a hand painted sign and wondered how it was made then I highly suggest taking a workshop at New Bohemia Signs in San Francisco. Instructors Damon Styer and Heather Hardison teach a handful of basic yet crucial sign painting techniques. The class is broken into four sections. The first section you learn and practice how to properly construct a casual ‘speed’ script (image 1). As you become more comfortable with the brush you segue into section 2 and learn how to paint a Gothic style alphabet (image 2). It definitely takes a lot of practice and I recommend continuing it at home in between classes. In section 3 you create your own design or phrase using the two lettering styles you learned in section 1 and 2. New Bohemia provides each attendee a 10″ x 24″ board in which to paint your design on. They also teach you how to make and prep a board at home. Once you’ve finished your design they show you several application techniques to transfer the artwork to the board. Then it’s off to the races and if your speedy enough you’ll be able to finish your piece in time before the workshop ends (image 3). For anyone whose been starved from using their hands take this class because you’ll be hooked immediately into one of the most addicting analog hobbies around.
