Couple More Projects...

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

I'm gonna recoup my expenses from 1st week of doing these. Posted pics on a local online site and have a few custom orders already. The "Time In A Saddle" sign is 18in x 24in. I'm calling these the Joe Jessup series. Joe was my college roommate and is a published author of an incredible western novel called The New Indians. I spent a week this past summer in a cabin on his Utah ranch in the mountains. The sign is something I heard him say. The House of Cajun plaque is an old blank I picked up at a yard sale. It's gonna be for a cajun neighbor who always brings the most incredible dishes to our bbq's on the street with everyone. Still deciding on whether to do a scroll border or little branches with red peppers on it. The Pickin' Parlor sign was a quickie for a friend in Houston with a $50,000 acoustic guitar collection.

 

[sardocs]

That is some real purdy brushwork. The scrolls are terrific.

 

[signage]

Glad to see you're enjoying yourself and back in the saddle :{)

 

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

A few more from recent days...

 

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

A few more..

 

[jman]

Sweet! Looks great

 

[neato]

Great work! Refreshing to see some hand painted work here.

 

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

Last few days...

 

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

Looking back at this old post I'm amazed at how far I've traveled already with this craft fair idea. All of these signs I've posted sold long ago as well as several new ones from the same patterns. Last weekend I sold $470 worth on a 6 hour long Saturday. I still miss the days where hand lettering routinely made me at least that much in an hour. I've learned a lot about selling at craft fairs in the past year or so. It'll never be a lucrative money making endeavor, but it's a fun way to get out of the house and meet people. It's also filling a desire to continue with sign PAINTING. Along the way I've been asked to do pinstriping as well as having taken quite a few orders for custom signs. I met a legendary old Texas musician who invited me to a regular Friday jam session I've been playing guitar at for several months now. I've also talked with lots of other vendors and bartered goods with them. My online sales are actually becoming lucrative. I've shipped signs to lots of places in the U.S. I have a cousin with a hugely successful online store that ships items worldwide. She told me to jack my prices up and offer free shipping. She claims that's all people care about. Apparently she was right. Sales increased a lot after that.

I can say for certain I despise 1 SHOT paint without the lead. I'm still holding out hope of coming across a stash of the old stuff someday I can pick up for a reasonable price. The unleaded doesn't track the same out of a brush and the coverage is abysmal. Fortunately many of my signs get reliced and distressed anyway. I've discovered a way of making a sign look aged by immediately blotting the paint with brown kraft paper after each character is lettered. I reluctantly started offering signs made on old weathered grey fence boards. The big time practitioners of this method hate it when I show up at a fair. Their lettering skills can't even remotely compete with what I've been doing for over forty years (I always wondered why the word "forty" isn't spelled with a "u" since it pertains to the number?). Maybe bob can 'splain it to me. All in all though the craft fair idea has become a routine part of my life I thoroughly enjoy. I even sold my pickup truck and bought a cargo van so I don't have to worry about weather or unloading right away after every event. It's tons o' fun.

 

[signage]

Glad to see you are still enjoying what you love to do!