Upcoming film celebrates the under-appreciated art and craft of sign painting

“I want to make signs that turn into art,” a seasoned sign painter says in Faythe Levine and Sam Macon’s new documentary. Elegant, hand-painted signs on walls and shops were once ubiquitous and the craft was studied. But though you can still see traces on old bricks around town, traditional signs are nowadays hard to come by.

This trailer offers a taster of the upcoming documentary, Sign Painters, which celebrates this “invisible art.” Levine and Macon talk to over a dozen experienced sign painters across America about their skill and the way it’s changed since vinyl lettering appeared in the early 1980s and speedier, cheaper digital alternatives threatened paint and brush. An excellent glimpse into an under-appreciated art.