Welcome to The Hand Lettering Forum! This is an interactive Bulletin Board on the topics of Sign making, design, fabrication, History, old Books and of coarse Letterheads, Keepers of the craft. The Hand Lettering Forum features links to resources, sign art history, techniques, and artists profiles. Learn more about Letterheads at https://theletterheads.com. Below you'll see Mchat has been added as a live communication portal for trial, and the Main forum Links are listed below.
Sorry! another glass sign to show you..
I have just finished this piece of work. Gerald Whittaker is a signwriter from Hampshire here in England ,his wife Julia commisioned me to make this piece for him as a suprise birthday present for May 9th . I made up a design and liked the look of a Rawson and Evans panel that I had seen . I went about vectoring the panel and changing the design elements like adjusting it for brilliant cutting and acid etching and adding text and a pictorial steam engine which Gerald owns . It took a while to get all the vectors clean and sharp ready for cutting. Can you believe it! after doing all this work I found the same scroll panel that Gary Godby had sent me 3 years before, I could have saved so much time if I had just looked through my images first .Oh well! The Traction Engine belongs to Gerald and his wife Julia, she said he is so into fairground artwork and Engines that it would be nice to have his own engine on the panel along with the makers name and address. Wallis and Steevens Traction Engine manufacturers were a big supplier of these machines back 100 years ago. Take a look at the company and it's history http://www3.hants.gov.uk/museum/wallis-steevens.htm . Wikipedia also has alott of info about them . Anyway enough of me going on this is how it came out.
Thanks
Dave
p.s he actually got it this week as I was too busy to get it finished in time .
vectors.jpg (112.24 KiB) Viewed 20554 times
1.jpg (139.27 KiB) Viewed 20548 times
2.jpg (116.59 KiB) Viewed 20551 times
The trees I made using another photo of a country scene and adding the same filter effect which I have mentioned on the next post
Last edited by DAVE SMITH on Sun Jun 28, 2009 2:42 pm, edited 2 times in total.
The image was scanned from a photo. I tried a way of giving it an old print look, I never really liked the dotted half tone effect you get from like newspaper prints.
I ended up adding a scratched filter to the image once I had made it a grayscale file. Came out very detailed as you can see
This bottom image is now printed with the traction engine, I only pulled the screen across once without flood pulling so that I was able to get maximum detail with a thick ink layer the next print I made filled the detail in, so for any projects that you have avoid flood pulling for pictorial work on fine details.
Sorry for all these phots but it is so hard just to show what the glass looks like from just a few images.
Hope you liked them! this last shot is of Gerald yesterday with the sign
Dave,
Totally amazing as always! I could only dream of people asking for something like that here in the US. Ifyou don't mind saying how much you got for it that would be interesting.
Yes, amazing as allways! I've been thinking the same as Roderick about people ordering something like this in the U.S.
I also would be interested as to how much you got for this. Very beautiful Dave. I love your color choices. Thanks very much for sharing. Ya think I'd be getting used to seeing this stuff from you, but I'm allways amazed!
Magnificent work Dave,
That piece would put a box of Rolexs to shame.
I can only imagine the price tag, but when you get down to it and figure what you invested to
more than master a begone industry there must be a formula.
So I figure: beveled glass $180.00, gold leaf $45-$50.00, paints $4.00, mirror solution $6.00, animal glue $150.00,
being lucky enough to call upon you
to do a one off- priceless!!
I appreciate all your comments as always. I just like to share a small part of my work and I know this is a place that does appreciate art. I love to see what you are all creating also.
Rod and Jerry, I don't mind you asking how much it cost, but it would be unfair to disclose it here as it was a present for Gerald from his wife Julia. Gerald occasionally visits this forum and the price was a personal issue between me and his wife. Hope you don't mind lads. The frame I had made by a cabinet maker friend and then I French polished it. These type of customers are not around all the time but once Gerald had visited my shop in 2008 for some work he commisioned me to restore and some brilliant cutting to replace for some gypsy windows he had become interested in what I did with glass work. His wife told me that he had enjoyed his visit to my town so she went about planning this glass suprise for him.
Thanks again, glad you liked it.
Dave
That is totally freakin' ridiculous!!! I'm not even sure how I can be this amazed at your work after seeing your previous work. You truly are a master . . .
never worry about posting too many photos here Dave.......a truly magnificent piece.....and again thanks for making the effort so we can see your work.
hahahaaaa, that's funny Danny. Dave, I’m glad Roderick ask you about pricing, and I totally understand your situation and respect that, and maybe I should start another post about this topic so your friend might not see. But I’ll just start this thread that will either be picked up on or not.
All of my sigmaking artist friends and I talk a lot about pricing………not only is learning and experimenting how to create in this wonderful world of glass the real joy, but being compensated well for it puts a nice candle on the cake. Pricing is a large part of what we do ! And it’s really interesting that we, unlike other trades, set our own value. I personally decline all bid work, I’m just not interested in doing it. …..nor am I interested in doing what someone else would do for $50 less. I don’t do a lot of work, but when I do, I want to be paid well for it I would only hope to attempt to do your quality of work, but if I did , my charge for that piece would be……...
Ye padfoots ot' be ashamed imposing so much of English Dave, what with stealin away and poundin' down tents on his fine turfed estate.
Aye! and with lofty thoughts o' toppin' yur festerin' gobs up on bangers & mash and beer & chips an' such.
I'd be grateful just to curl up in his toss pot with a paint skin and eat the cow glue off the glass chips in the dust bin.
You guys know Nothin', NOTHIN"!! Oh shut up!!
But if you do go.... wear the FOX HAT!
Pat
Your guy's make me laugh! I'm convinced your a bunch of nutty signmakers.! you want to tent in my garden? I have no grass left due to puppy p___s .
If you come here you need to bring that Sally guy you know the one.... the steak cook. He can sleep with me. Not sure about those bloke's Mackle and Treece though..... strange two them be... This is Milo, he helps me make these glass signs. he also speaks Italian..
Thanks for the comments lads..
Dave
Denver Chapter of the Letterheads