By signcraft
Posted on Monday, June 24th, 2024
“You know,” says Mark Casey, “sometimes you see something that looks like it would just be so much fun to paint. When that happens, I can’t resist it.”
For Mark, one such thing was vintage beer labels—vintage Michigan breweries to be exact. Over the past few years, he’s tracked down and painted dozens of those labels as large panels, using the sign painting skills that he developed over a lifetime.
“There were a lot of small breweries across Michigan back in the early 1900s. They’re all out of business now, of course, but the labels were beautiful. To me, many of them just cry out to be hand painted. I suspect many were originally designed by sign painters.”
He’s painted them on overlaid plywood panels from 3-by-4-ft. to 4-by-8-ft. in size, working from small photos of the original labels. He used the grid method to enlarge and draw them, then made hand-drawn pounce patterns.
“There are no computers involved in the process,” Mark says. “I’m stuck in the ’70s.”
Mark has painted the labels for friends and neighbors—and himself. Some are on the walls of his home, and the balance are stacked in the basement. A few years ago, he created a website, www.oldsignpainter.com, to share some of his favorites.
“These panels aren’t really about the money, so I’ve not looked for any customers for them. I’m taking my time on them and enjoying myself. I might sell a few at some point. I’ve always thought they would be nice on the walls of a local tavern. There’s a lot of nostalgia in them.”
His sign painting roots
Now 68, Mark started hand lettering in high school. His art teacher, an ex-sign painter, saw a poster Mark had made and asked if he enjoyed it. The teacher shared some of the basics of hand lettering and encouraged Mark to pursue it.
“He told me some stories about being a sign painter, and I discovered that you could get paid for painting signs. He even lined up a few side jobs for me, including some for an apartment complex across from the school.
“After I graduated, the apartment manager asked me to paint the complex name in 10-foot-tall letters on the roof. When I went to do it, he told me to sign these papers first. When I asked why, he said it was because I was starting my own company. He said that way if I fell off the roof, he wasn’t responsible. I was 18 and had my own sign company. I didn’t realize that would become my career but it did.”
40 years in business
After high school, Mark went on to apprentice under Ernie Giordano, a well-known Detroit sign painter. Ernie did all manner of commercial signs, from showcards to wall signs. Mark not only got an education in the sign business but also gained a lifelong friend.
“Ernie was profoundly important in my sign painting career—and my life. I have nothing but the fondest of memories of learning the trade with his guidance. He was a very special man that loved painting signs. His passion for his work and for life was contagious.”
After that two-year apprenticeship, he opened Casey Sign Company. He and Wendy, his wife, ran the business from their home studio for 10 years, then computers arrived on the scene. As new competition sprung up, they realized they had to make the change from sign painting to cut vinyl signs.
“We started using computers and plotters, and for 30 years we merged my traditional skills with the computer work. My design skills came from my training as a sign painter, and we used the computer as a production tool. In 2015 we passed the business along to our son and retired.
“When the computers came along, I had to change with the times to make a living. But I promised myself that someday I would return to what I was trained to do, which was to be a sign painter. When I retired, I went back to doing things the way we used to.
“Back in the 1970s, a customer would give us their logo or business card and tell us to do a 4×8. There was no projector, no computer. You just sketched it out and painted it, and it felt good. I wanted to get back to that feeling, and the beer labels have been one of the ways I’ve done that. I really enjoy painting signs the traditional way.”
A great way to learn
Mark adds these comments for those wanting to learn the craft of sign painting:
“One of my goals in my old age is to promote traditional sign painting and encourage people to learn the craft. I hope that seeing these beer labels reproduced as signs will inspire those interested in traditional sign painting to move forward in pursuit of getting very proficient at the trade.
“Confidence breeds artistic happiness. For me these beer signs are like going to a sign painting school every day I paint on them. I do them to learn more and get better at my craft by challenging myself. Each has its own unique problems and I always learn something about layout, lettering and/or color as I do one.
“Using the grid method to enlarge them requires me to dissect the layout and even dissect each individual letter as I draw it just like the original. It’s like trying to get inside the head of the original designer. Why did he/she choose to use that color side shade? Do I like it? Why put that swash on the first A, but not the second one? Do I think that works? Why kern those letters so far apart there? There are many brainteasers like that on each beer label.
“I would recommend that anyone wishing to learn sign painting begin at home by drawing and painting a reproduction of any sign that they find within their skill range that they find exciting to look at—which will be different for everyone. I’ve reproduced really cool lettering I’ve seen on pinball machines, race car stickers and old newspaper ads.
“I once did a 4-by-5-ft. wood sign replicating the label on a Del Monte can of mustard seed just because I loved the Del Monte blackletter logo and that great red/green/gold color combination! I believe this a great way to learn from the masters of the past—for free.”
“Before Prohibition, Cream of Michigan was the best-selling beer in the state.”
“This one is my design, again done just for fun.”
“A couple of these aren’t beer signs, but they were crying to be painted.”
