Art

One of the ‘bonus’ stops on my Bankside Ghostsigns Walk is a pair of signs on the back The Borough Welsh Congregational Chapel (Doyce Street and Great Guildford Street). These convey the euphemistic line, ‘Commit No Nuisance‘, which translates to ‘please don’t urinate here’. Many […]

Commit Some Nuisance for Bankside

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs and tagged Art Bankside Better Bankside Borough Market Commit No Nuisance LDF18 London London Design Festival NB Studio Nick Finney UK on September 28, 2018 by Sam Roberts

Digital artist Andrei Lacatusu has created Social Decay, a series of images depicting a possible future of washed-up digital companies and their derelict signs. They are ‘faux’, although in a different sense to those that I’ve documented in the past. An article on Digital Arts […]

Social Decay from Andrei Lacatusu

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Collections Sign Initiatives and tagged Andrei Lacatusu Art Digital Art Facebook Faux Google Illuminated Instagram Neon Pinterest Tinder Twitter on August 10, 2018 by Sam Roberts

Michelle Heron is a London-based painter with a paticular fascination for old shops and shop fronts. Her paintings depict iconic fascias, many of which have been lost since she turned her attention to them, and some that survive in a state of perpetual uncertainty. As […]

Michelle Heron’s Fantastic Fascias

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Collections Sign Initiatives and tagged Art Blustons Cooke Egg Stores Jones Dairy London Michelle Heron Peter Hardwicke UK Zodiac on April 20, 2018 by Sam Roberts

Independently of each other I have been sent photos of this beautiful Paris ghost signs by Wim Dammers and book contributor Leisa Clements. It is a remarkably elaborate piece of work, including picturials in other sections. This is isn’t surprising as it is advertising the […]

E. Gautier’s Beautiful Paris Ghost Signs

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Folk Signs of Note and tagged Art E. Gautier Enseignes France Frederick Brill Homage a' Atkinson Grimshaw Leisa Clements Paris Signwriter Stephen Gavin Tot Brill Wim Dammers on April 6, 2018 by Sam Roberts

On one of my walking tours back in 2014 guests had the opportunity to see this reveal of a newsagent and tobacconists’ sign at No.5 Stoke Newington Church Street. Starlove, as it was known, occupied the premises from at least 1962 until the late 1970s […]

Numbers 3-7 Stoke Newington Church Street

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Stories and tagged A Nation of Shopkeepers Amir Dotan Art BEJ Smith Confectionery Hackney History of Stoke Newington Laurence George Shepherd London N16 Newsagent Player's Player's No.6 Privilege Reveal Rosa Sheppards Market Starlove Stoke Newington Stoke Newington Church Street Tobacco UK on December 29, 2017 by Sam Roberts

Brimay Safety Matches Ghost Sign — One of the things I most enjoy about my work on ghostsigns is getting involved with student projects using the signs as a springboard into other creative processes. I’ve helped on a number of these, most recently the work of Gloria Soria at London College […]

Ghosting with Ghost Signs: An Experiment in Risography

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs and tagged Art Ghosting Ghostsigns Gloria Soria LCC London College of Communication Print Printing Risograph Risography on August 13, 2014 by Sam Roberts

Not ghostsigns, but I thought that readers of this blog would also appreciate some of the fantastic lettering at Carters Steam Fair that was recently posted to the Better Letters site. Staggering work and a wonderful example of traditional styles and techniques thriving in the […]

Fairground Lettering at Carters Steam Fair

This entry was posted in Painted Lettering Photo Essays Related Work and tagged Art Carters Steam Fair Fairground Joby Carter Lettering on June 27, 2014 by Sam Roberts

Montage of vintage signs from Scotland — This fabulous montage of Scottish ghostsigns was created by Dave Cowan of Scotland in Detail. It is available as a print from his store and he says the following of his work and this creation. I’ve been fascinated by these old signs for a few […]

Scotland in Detail: Vintage Signs from Dave Cowan

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Folk and tagged Art Dave Cowan Dundee Edinburgh Ghostsigns Glasgow Montage Montrose Palimpsest Scotland Scotland in Detail UK on March 26, 2014 by Sam Roberts

RE Ringer General Merchandise store front — In an effort to save this fading and rusting shop front, Beth and Tony Walls moved the entire building 150ft to allow for a highway widening project. Martin Garfinkel of Roadside Gallery has captured it beautifully in this fine art print, available to buy here. […]

Moving Walls to Save a Ghostsign

This entry was posted in Individual Signs and tagged Art Beth Walls Carrollton Coca-Cola Coke Georgia Ghostsigns Martin Garfinkel Photographer Photography Preservation Protection RE Ringer General Merchandise Restoration Roadside Gallery Tony Walls USA on March 14, 2014 by Sam Roberts

Fading painted advertisement on wall alongside piece of street art — Kasey Smith’s ‘Perception Filter‘ blog is well worth a follow for all ghostsigns enthusiasts. Her dispatches from San Francisco have been a big influence on me, as evidenced by the number of times I’ve decided to highlight her observations, insights, investigations and mapping efforts here on […]

Anarchy on the Walls: Ghostsigns, Street Art & Graffiti

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Preservation and tagged Art Article Augustine Kofie Graffiti Kasey Smith London Patek-Ecklon Perception Filter Protection San Francisco Street Art UK USA on October 27, 2013 by Sam Roberts

Fading painted sign on wall for Inch & Co Chemists — Coming back from my visit to South London I also spotted this ghostsign advertising Inch & Co Cash Chemists on Kennington Park Road. As I was trying to recall the location I searched for the company name and found a couple of references to it […]

Inch & Co Chemists Inspires Poetry

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Signs of Note and tagged Art Chemist Formerly Inch & Co Kennington Kennington Park Road London Medical Poem Poetry Tamar Yoseloff UK on October 20, 2013 by Sam Roberts

London ghostsign photographed by Mari Boman — Mari Boman, a photographer, took ghostsigns as the subject matter for her project titled ‘Liminal Space: past/presence’. The result is this series of nine beautiful images of some of London’s most well known ghostsigns. Not only that but the titles offer cryptic clues as to […]

Liminal Space: past/presence by Mari Boman

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Collections Sign Stories and tagged Art Bovril Bryant and May Brymay Ghostsigns Liminal Space Mari Boman Peterkin Photographer Photography on August 25, 2013 by Sam Roberts

Raja Painter Horn Please by Shantanu Suman — Horn Please is a short film by directors Shantanu Suman and Istling Mirche, all about the bright and colourful hand-painted trucks that fuel India‘s massive goods transportation system. It is an insightful and captivating expose of this fascinating cultural phenomenon, touching on the history of truck […]

Horn Please and the wonderful world of India’s hand-painted trucks

This entry was posted in Painted Lettering Related Work and tagged Art Asia Craft Documentary Film Horn Please India Shantanu Suman Truck Painting Video on May 16, 2013 by Sam Roberts

Collage showing various ghostsigns in Kidderminster — This collage, ‘Ghost Signs of Kidderminster’, by Laurie Abraham scooped first prize in a competition to depict the heritage of Kidderminster in the Midlands. It puts together a number of signs of different types from around the central market area, including those painted by hand, […]

Ghost Signs of Kidderminster by Laurie Abraham

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs and tagged Art Collage Competition Event Kidderminster Laurie Abraham Midlands on October 20, 2012 by Sam Roberts

Oversized pansies painted on a wall with people standing in front of it — This question gets some coverage on the Guardian in this article about the Rochdale-born artist who rubbed councils up the wrong way in creating his artworks in the North of England. You can learn more about the man and his work, including various global assignments, […]

Was Walter Kershaw “Britain’s first graffiti artist”?

This entry was posted in Related Work and tagged 1970s Art Graffiti Murals People Rochdale Street Art UK Walter Kershaw on September 26, 2012 by Sam Roberts

The Circulating Library sign from Bath is certainly one of the most popular and regularly photographed ghostsigns in the UK [See comments on this post for some more on this sign]. However, this is the first time I’ve seen it appear in watercolour. This painting […]

Lyndsey Smith and the signs of Bath and Lewes

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Folk and tagged Art Bath Boots Chemist Circulating Library Lewes Lyndsey Smith Shop Signs UK Watercolours on September 5, 2012 by Sam Roberts

Watercolour by Dana Forrester showing two classic cars in front of a painted wall sign for Wrigley's Doublemint gum — Work on my book means that I haven’t been blogging as diligently as usual so this is getting back to it. Through William Stage (author of ‘Ghost Signs‘) I became acquainted with American watercolour artist Dana Forrester. Dana is an artist who uses ghostsigns in […]

Dana Forrester, ghostsigns and classic cars

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Folk Signs in Media and tagged Americana Art Artist Books Cars Dana Forrrester Motoring USA Watercolours on August 22, 2012 by Sam Roberts

Mosaic depicting a New York gangster from the prohibition era — ‘Mosaic Man’ Jim Power profiled in this film showing his work on the Mosaic Trail, a Lower Manhattan art exhibit depicting the people and the history of the area and the city. Sadly many of his works were destroyed but he’s now on a mission […]

Jim Power’s mosaics, a piece of New York history

This entry was posted in Off Piste Related Work and tagged Art Jim Power Mosaic Mosaic Man Mosaic Trail New York Tours USA on August 6, 2012 by Sam Roberts

Mural depicting men hanging out on the steps of a house — Daniel Lohmann kindly shared the link to this archive of Los Angeles mural photography from Ernest A. Long. There is an introductory article on the Getty education blog and the collection contains 200 images, all taken between 1973 and 1883. Like London it seems that Los […]

Los Angeles murals photographed by Ernest A. Long

This entry was posted in Related Work and tagged 1970s 1980s Archive Art Daniel Lohmann Ernest A. Long Getty la Los Angeles Murals Photographer USA Wayne Healy on July 28, 2012 by Sam Roberts

Large sign above American diner — Bennie Frazier’s retro fashion store in Sweetwater, Texas, is an unlikely home for a collection of original artworks from Bill Martin, late resident of the same town. These depict the colourful roadside signs that once characterised American highways, often using neon and sometimes as big […]

American Roadside sign art from Bill Martin

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Signs in Media and tagged Americana Art Bennie Frazier Bill Martin Highway Neon People Roadside Shop Signs Spectacular Sweetwater Texas USA Video on July 22, 2012 by Sam Roberts

Horse heads cave painting from the Chauvet cave Ardèche — I’ve become increasingly intrigued by the origins of painting on walls, and the evolution of the form over time, up to the current vogue for street art. While the walls of caves were not made of brick, they did nonetheless provide people with an early […]

The origins of painting on walls

This entry was posted in Sign Making Signs in Media and tagged Aboriginal Ancient Ardèche Art Australia France Handpainted History Neanderthal Pre-History South Africa Spain Wales on July 11, 2012 by Sam Roberts

Berchowitz faux ghostsign from British Columbia by John Schrantz — Sometimes hand painted signs on buildings are created to look old and weathered intentionally. The example pictured (original photo on Flickr) was produced in 2003 for the Disney film, ‘Miracle’. (Does anyone have a clip showing where and how it features in the film?) Another […]

Faux ghostsigns

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Signs in Media Signs of Note and tagged Art Canada Colossal Media Dewars Disney Emmanuel Nouaillier Faux Film France It's All Art Jack Daniel's Jerry Johnson Keith Hampton Production Rick Janzen Streamline Studios UK USA on July 1, 2012 by Sam Roberts

Screen shot of short film about student art project — This technique of using light to create a layout is actually nothing new. There is a reference to the ‘lantern method’ in a 1929 book called Poster Design by W.G. Raffe. The method, offered up in contrast to the pounce method, is described as: “The […]

Student art project uses light projection technique to layout design ...

This entry was posted in Related Work and tagged Art Contemporary Issues USA Video on June 15, 2012 by Sam Roberts

Lemoore Can't Bust Em Overalls ghostsign by Ken Jones — Dr Ken Jones is a former NASA imaging expert whose work in the 1970s included digitally photographing the surface of Mars. This required the use of image ‘mosaics’, a technique which he is now applying to the more terrestrial subject of ghostsigns.Dr Jones’ work starts from […]

Dr Ken Jones’ mosaic technique for ghostsigns photography

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Collections Sign Folk Sign Initiatives and tagged Art Ken Jones Mapping Mosaic People Photographer USA on April 18, 2012 by Sam Roberts