I secured a job with Lockheed Shipyard in Seattle, Washington, and I was satisfied for a while, kind of, but they too discovered that I could draw and soon I was doing illustrations for manuals etc. The same pattern again. After a bit of time and a bad relationship I began feeling like a country boy trapped in the city. The sale of a few paintings and my desire to do more caused me to part with the city and head back into the slow lane.

In the fall of 1969, I left the security of my job in the engineering division of Lockheed. I moved north to the quiet little town of Anacortes. Anacortes is a beautiful fishing village on the north shore of Fidalgo Island in northwest Washington's San Juan Islands. Accompanied by E. C. Mathews, Ralph Gregory and Atkinson, in book form of course, I set out to fulfill my boyhood dream of becoming a commercial artist. I was always fascinated with the art of lettering, and I thought "becoming a sign writer should be a cinch." What an awakening!!! I was soon to learn that I had undertaken a career that could not be mastered in a lifetime.

I lettered the window in my first, small as it were, but affordable studio to read; 'Signs, Commercial Art and Engineering.' After a year of countless hours toiling over those basic practice strokes, tears and frustration, I was able to see enough progress resulting from my efforts that I boldly removed the line of type 'and engineering' from my sign. Its been 41 years since I made that decision and I have had very few regrets. As a matter of fact, I often give thanks for finding myself fortunate enough to make a decent living at doing something I so greatly enjoy.

Having found my niche in a small market place, Fidalgo Island has only 30,000 or so population, I have been required by necessity over the last 41 years to gain a reasonable skill level in most areas of our craft. Our primary areas of expertise are boat lettering, design, carving, airbrush art, striping, gold leafing, as well as brush lettering and creating computer generated graphics.

The addition of the computer to our craft seemed at first to be a compromise, and early on it was. However, with the continuing development of the software programs, it has merely become a fast pencil.

Although the computer now greatly reduces the time spent in the design and even the rendering of signs, it still requires the artist's creative ability along with the experience of a good sign crafter to optimize its full potential. With the combining of both the computer and the craftsmanship, I am able to produce high quality signage at competitive prices.

Over the years we had built our business to the point which enabled us to reach our ultimate goal, a new 1,250 sq. ft. studio at our home. With the aid of Cindy, my wife of 37 years, and several computers, we are able to keep up with the workload fairly well. The new facility is very comfortable, with a view of the islands to the west and north, and beautiful snow crested Mt. Baker to the east. Again I find myself quite thankful.

I have asked myself several times, as I sit here writing today; "What is my purpose for preparing this profile?" Here are several reasions i've decided to do so. With the advance of the Internet, we are now able to communicate with others involved in our craft from the far corners of our World. These profiles are a great way for us to meet each other up close and personal. It is also a great place to watch the development of this many faceted trade. Over the years, I have been inspired by so many people that it would be impossible to list them all here. In addition to those mentioned at the beginning of this story, I would have to add Mike Stevens, Mike Jackson, Val Bloomberg, Bob Bohounek, John Hanukaine, Chester Cunningham, and especially SignCraft. For years they have been showcasing these guys along with countless others who have shared their work and ideas with those of us that work out here on the fringes of the sign market.

A special thanks to a very old signwriter of the old school by the name of Cornwall. I was several years into the trade, doing a large permanent window sign, inside, reverse, the whole bit. As I worked, I became aware of this old gent watching me. After a while, I noticed him leave his car and start walking over to the store I was working in. As he came closer I realized that it was Mr. Cornwall. I thought; "Oh boy! Here comes the master to critique the new kid, only to find myself pleasantly surprised. He came in, walked up to me and said " Son, I've been watching you and you are going to do all right. You've got it in yer mitt and if ya' don't have it in yer mitt, you'll never get it."

In the following years, in those times I was most discouraged and felt I was getting nowhere, I would remember his words, keep working and eventually reach another level. My hope is that these many years of dedication to our craft will enable me to one day lift up and give confidence to another young and aspiring craftsman, as he or she also work their way from one plateau to another.

I've mentioned many things that have attributed to the building of a successful sign business, but now I must add what has been my most important attribute, my wife of 37 years Cindy. I would be remiss to believe I could have succeeded without her constant help. She not only takes care of the children and household, but also finds time to spend many hours in the studio each week. She is the bookkeeper, the receptionist, chief weeder and girl Friday in general. Over and above the physical help, she has always been supportive of me and my efforts.

And last, but not least, I would like to offer a huge thanks to Steve and Barb Shortreed, not only for their contributions to the sign trade but greatly for their continued effort to build the Internet thru Letterheads.com into a place for professional sign people to gather together, grow closer, and share our knowledge and skills. Thanks too for the fostering and building of the Letterheads Chat Channel. If you haven't yet tried the chat yet, do so, you'll really enjoy it.

My likes and dislikes?

First my loves, God, my family, wife Cindy has seen me through it all and my children Karie 41 and Jamie Jr. 40 (both from a previous marriage), Jeremiah 33, Sarah 30 and Jessica, our surprise, but no less wonderful 15 year old. Also my wife's family, who has always been there for support and inspiration. Then fly fishing, golf, bowling, chess, and any kind of art or music. Oh yeah, then there's the chat. :):):)

Dislikes include golf scores that are too high, bowling scores that are too low, signs containing 10 lines of helvetica medium, and too many rainy days in a row. Also there is the paint that seems like it will never dry, those darn rivets that seem to show up just where there is a letter, mirrors in the middle of truck doors and last but not least...the layout lines that have to come off after the paint that seems it'll never dry finally does.

 
Take Time to E-Mail Me