I am so excited to be part of the upcoming art show dedicated to women in sign painting, "The Pre-Vinylette Society" at the Chicago Art Department opening on September 8th.

As someone who is married to a sign painter, (Damon Styer of New Bohemia Signs) I have been watching in awe as he creates such beautiful signs and lettering. Everything created in our shop is hand painted, and I jumped at the chance to be part of it all. Although, my job doesn't include much painting myself, (I am the assistant manager for the shop). I try to do as many little projects as I can.

With a few butterflies in my stomach, I decided to challenge myself and do a sign for the show.

Here's how it went...

Here's the initial sketch for the painting.

I made a few changes, fought with my brushes a bit, and go plenty of advice (and a little help) from my husband but finally came up with something I was proud of.

As someone that has been painting most of my life, the biggest challenge of sign painting is getting used to the tools of the trade. We use 1-Shot enamel paints for 99% of all we do, and i must say it is very different from my usual watercolor paints. But I am still learning and will eventually figure out the "Muscle Memory" of using the brushes.

Debra Styer, The Optomists Optometrist, 2017

18"x24" 1-shot enamel on wood

If you happen to be in Chicago in September, stop by and see the show!

The Pre-Vinylette Society
Sept 8th – Sept 28th, 2017
Opening Reception Friday September 8th, 6-10pm
Pre-Vinylette panel discussion: Saturday September 9th, 2-4pm
Chicago Art Department – 1932 South Halsted
Gallery Hours: Saturday September 9th, 16th, 23rd, 12-5pm or by appointment

Although I won't be able to make it to the show myself, I honored to have my work shown among such amazing and talented women.

I also want to thank Meredith Kasabian of Best Dressed Signs and Shelby Rodeffer of Finer Signs

I would love to see the art of sign painting continue to grow. I will happily watch as more and more women get inspired to take up the brush. Here's to us all and good luck with the show!

Update: Here's a super cool post on the show from Hyperallergic.