center church sign restoration

a lopez historical landmark finally got a facelift. i also painted a new one for the bottom, but it's not hung up yet.
update: the bottom sign was hung up, as well as all of the parking signs i made. it looks good! there was a bit of a snafu on the color of "white" that i used, but it seems to have worked itself out. i try not to use "white white" because it's sort of glaring on the eye. but white isn't always white, and i need to pay closer attention. lesson learned! sometime i need to take another pic on a cloudy day....

inside passage counseling center

i made this out of a recycled real estate sign, from a pile of them that were donated to me once. it saves me time & materials, and the client money. it's 2' x 2', and i added the handle.
i can't recycle just any old piece of plywood, for longevity reasons, but these are heavily painted, thick exterior wood and are in excellent condition even after heavy sanding.

...and two more for heather. i designed this logo over the summer,  and at the time i knew it would be really fun to paint with the gorgeous colors. it was! heather's office is in anacortes, so it will be more of a challenge to get 'on location' shots for these.

illuminated aviary

well, since i moved my studio out of the bus (my house) and down the road, i had to come up with something to do in my 'downtime' in the evenings (anita, you were totally right on). i still like to watch movies and stitch books together at the end of the day, but here's what i've been working on just for fun lately; combining my favorite medieval, celtic and art nouveau styles with birds from my own yard (the mourning doves come in the summertime, but everyone else is hanging about right now). i don't know if i'm going to do the entire alphabet; i need to start working on the "applegate project"!

revel in wintertime

check it out! i got my drawing on the holiday cover of the local food co-op rag, which i'm pretty proud of...but the artist credit just says "Brenna Jael"...no last name, no web address...which was really WHY i agreed to spend 20 hours on a drawing for a $75 credit; exposure to 10,000 people in the skagit valley.
no harm done; i googled "brenna jael" and there i was, of course....sometimes it's nice to have an unusual name.
also, i traded the credit for 4 months of advertising.
i know it's just fire paper, but still, it's a small thrill.

by the way, i did print some cards with this image, that i'm selling, and i can make larger prints by request. check my etsy shop BBearproductions, or if you're on the 'Pez, they're for sale at LoCo.

sally by the sea

i painted these last spring, but sally recently got them hung up out by the road, so i stopped by for a photo shoot. despite the fact that she lives on a very quiet country road, and it's dead winter, the "open" sign has apparently attracted a lot of walk-in traffic already.
i hope this works for me at my new studio!!!

here's a link to sally's etsy shop, where she sells extremely cool screenprinted goods:

sallybythesea.etsy.com

one more for Isabel's Espresso (two sides)

a couple of favorites

2 of my favorite signs from around the island, that i did not make:

because of this one, i have that song stuck in my head all the time. you know the one.

but this is my all-time favorite sign. or poem. whatever you want to call it.

custom family tree illustrations in pen & ink

 two family trees i recently had the privilege and pleasure of drawing...

there's still time before christmas to have one made for your family.

contact me through
slowartlopez.com
or BBearproductions.etsy.com
to order your own!

 although the process generally takes only 7-10 days,  i cannot guarantee christmas delivery for orders taken after december 3. thanks!

PSOR, updated

these are replacements for 2 of my first-ever-signs for ron (the business owner), that i painted in 2000 or so. the old ones were peeling badly, as they face due south, with absolutely no protection from sun & salty salish sea wind.

since i didn't go to "sign painting school", and am 100% self-taught, i've learned a few things the hard way. i used to think you could take any old scrappy piece of plywood and make it into a sign.

you can, but the paint won't last.

i know, it's sad, because recycling old plywood is good! but i want my work to last more than 10 years, certainly.

so now, i only use high-grade plywoods in my work. i know it's not "job security" for me...but neither is a bunch of local businesses with scrappy, peeling signs.
the old ones were starting to embarrass me.

on to another unrelated, but related topic: huge, loud and excited congrats are in order for ron and robert who can FINALLY get legally married in washington state (not to mention my own mom and her partner, if they want)! many of us here are very happy about that. i know this has nothing to do with sign painting, except that ron paid me to paint these and that's part of the story i'm telling.

get over it already!

"Natural Enquirer" holiday cover art

to be published in november....greeting cards available in my etsy shop! singles, or packs of 5, 10 or 20 with envelopes...matte recycled paper, 3 x 5 inches.

bbearproductions.etsy.com

sally by the sea

i'll take a photo of this one in it's final home, when the new post is complete...but here's a crappy picture, just to show that i have been working...and i made a new friend, too.

check out sally's awesome and original silkscreening:
sallybythesea.etsy.com

center church

i re-painted the center church sign, but they have not hung up the new one yet. you can see how trashed the old one is.  i felt like this project was true proof that i've moved out of being a sign-painter just for "hippie businesses"....this sign is historical, and a departure from my style, and i was truly honored to paint it.  new pix coming soon!

inside passage counseling center, anacortes

here's a new logo i just finished. link coming soon!

Crazy Clocks

here's one fun project from late summer; inspired by the door to Grant Wood's studio, and custom made for Mary Bywater-Cross. i'll be making some more of these for sale, or custom-painted to order. sorry 'bout the crappy photo, but i don't have access to it again until next summer.

Then I made my own version; I think Linda Hudson has this one? I don't know where it ended up!

fir tree enterprises

last fall i designed this logo for christopher to turn into a brand for his live-edge and custom milled wood products; i finally got a photo of the finished product at the farmers' market last weekend; it adds a finishing touch to his amazing benches and tables.

http://www.firtreeenterprises.com/

larkspur handmade & vintage goods

a shop recently opened by some young local ladies on the 'pez; go check it out!

circle of currants

this is a small private garden on the island. i got to make this gate over the winter; it's hand-split red cedar posts and hand-peeled cedar boughs, and then  i got to paint the sign for it, too. these are the sorts of projects i love!

T & D Farms

tanddfarmslopezisland.com

Lo Co Island Arts & Crafts

my first new sign of this summer...

new logo, new phone number

greenwood tree cooperative school

i've been at the penland school of crafts for the past two months, so i haven't been working on signs or anything, but i did manage to get one paid project done while i was here (i leave to go home to lopez island in 2 days), and the final draft was approved just tonight. this is a pretty new elementary school in the mount vernon, washington state area. and a friend of mine from the islands is involved with it, so i ended up doing their logo. this is my absolute favorite way to spend time; more than painting, or bookbinding, rambling or gardening, i love to draw in pen and ink. cheers!

for more information about this school, check out their blog:

greenwoodtreecooperative.blogspot.com

R & R Moorings

this has to be the most beautiful sign holder i've had the pleasure of hanging a sign from.

mike's mechanical

i painted this sign last summer but i only took a photo last week. gotta love being able to trade with mechanics! mike and dina are sweet, helpful and honest.

deja vu

i got overconfident! this sign wasn't readable enough from afar, so i had to fill in the chartreuse with black. whhaaaa! i really liked it and it was oh-so-fun to paint. you can see the difference lighting makes, too, in the color; in the first photo it was dumping rain and the second, a sunny day.

isabel's espresso

chimera gallery

if you're in lopez village, swing by chimera gallery and check out their new sign and freshly renovated space....it looks really great. congrats to this local artists' cooperative celebrating their 25th year anniversary! it's quite an accomplishment on our sleepy little isle. i'll take another photo after the christmas lights go away.

 http://www.chimeragallery.com/

lopez thrift shop

one more sign from last year that i didn't get a chance to take a photo of...

thank you, lopez, for an excellent year

i painted 40 signs for 16 different clients on the island this year. i am so grateful to the lopez community for supporting my work in this way! one of my favorite things about this work is meeting a lot of people on the island with whom i wouldn't normally cross paths; and, for the first time i didn't have to get "another job."  i wasn't able to photograph all new projects before i left, but i'll get my portfolio caught up this winter.
 i've spent 13 years on the 'pez and some things there are making me  really crazy....i'm staying away for a bit, but i WILL be back. love and blessings to all, b

lopez island pharmacy: new location, new signs