I VOLUNTEERED TO MAKE A NEW SIGN
The St Augustine Beach Art Studio and Gallery is the smaller of the two art associations here in St. Augustine. They only have 800 square feet of display space, but the membership of 130 + is very loyal and everyone chips in and helps out where they can. They were in need of a new sign for the building since they changed their name. (It used to be called The Art Studio at St. Augustine Beach)
Anyway, I volunteered to paint a new sign if they could pay for the materials. The old sign is about 2 x 2 ft. The new sign is 6+ x 3 ft. It is much nicer, much larger, and will certainly catch the eye of people going to the beach!
The building is a turn of the century hotel that was turned into the City Hall years ago. When they built a new City Hall, it became an arts center for St. Augustine Beach. Today the space is used for a dance studio and the Art Studio & Gallery. It is a cool old building that is right on the beach by the pier and beachside park. But, the sign was way too small and people could pass by and not even notice the Art Studio.
Well, that has now been corrected. I purchased the wood in December, but had to wait 90 days for the pressure treated wood to dry thoroughly before I could paint it, otherwise the paint could have just peeled right off. That wouldn't be good at all! Not with all the work I put into it.
I had to putty and then sand, sand, sand all sides of the sign to get it smooth enough. Then I painted 3 coats of the base color everywhere. Then the real work began! The LOGO for the Art Studio is the building itself. So, I painted the building on the sign from a photo. It is 12"h x 30"w. Then I had to do all the lettering. Getting everything properly spaced and just the right size to look professional is not easy, but I managed finally. Oh, and at the bottom we needed an arrow with "Entrance" on it pointing the way to the door.
It took me a week to do 3 coats of lettering and painting. Then it needed 3 coats of Urethane to protect it from the elements, that took another week of coating, sanding and drying. But, it's finally done! I have a photo below for you to see, and I am rather proud of it. I'd never make any money at this, it takes too much time to be profitable, especially with printing companies available. But it did save a LOT of money for the Studio and that's important to me as a member.
I will NOT be installing the sign. It's very heavy, so it will take 2-3 strong men to do the job I'm guessing. It takes 2 men to carry it! My husband and I can move it with a furniture dolly, but it's not easy. However, it needed to be heavy to stand up to the elements at the beach.
We delivered it in our pickup and had people there to help unload it. Their reaction was well worth the effort.
Now, for the reveal. I hope you like it. Enjoy, and thanks for looking! If you ever get to visit us here at St. Augustine Beach, be sure to stop in and look at all the art being offered by our members. You'll be glad you did!
On another note, I have sold two more paintings at Ocean Art Gallery. Nice! the photos are below. Thanks for looking!
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| "SCARLET IBIS and ROSEATE SPOONBILL" 22 x 28 Acrylic on stretched canvas SOLD |
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| "INSPIRED" 'Ocean Meditations' series 8 x 32 stack Mixed media |
