I bought the Sign painters Book it was awesome reading, several of the sign painters I have met also seen there work, one was even my partner in Minnesota in a shop & was great reading & now on the film will be real cool to see.
I do not consider Sign Painting a lost art by no means, yes vinyl has taken a great deal of the work & for 20 years I saw how it destroyed the market & destroyed the craft, but since 2005 have now seen how Hand lettered signs has a real market with the help of the internet & study of good software yes another tool to add.
Also realize that vinyl has a place in the market, has a cheap Chinese cutter myself & use it every few months.
Myself god let me learn this craft & guides me to learn more so enjoyment of life is even better & to do my best helping others earn a good living for there families.
It is a great life I can wake up get on my bicycle , sell a job somewhere near use my god given talents to earn a living, not buying into all of the slavery of oil industry, banking industry or what ever... Just pack my stuff up into a backpack walk into a town use my talents to eat & enjoy life.
Yes simple life, simple needs, stress free, just using what I've learned & enjoy.