A little about my life as a scribe...
My first contact with lettering in a serious way was in Sydney, Australia. I lived near an excellent Greek restaurant, but it had no signs or advertising, and the owner complained that he could not afford a high priced sign writer. One evening I said that I could signwrite his window, but was busy for a couple of weeks. In reality, I had no idea what to do, so I studied at the library, bought equipment, practiced with water paint on newspaper and then went back and painted the window. I must have had some talent even then as I got paid for the job and got more work from it. Looking back, I made a terrible job (grin) but figured that I could make a living at this.
I purchased a Gladstone bag to hold my equipment, and set out hitchiking around Australia again. This time though, I stopped at each town and village and sign wrote up one side and down the other of the (usually the only) street. My skill rapidly developed and within a few months, I had made enough money to purchase a VW Combi van. I set it up as a studio and lived in the local hotels. I have been to every town on mainland Australia - a distance of over 100,000 miles and did it in 3.5 years.
The money was good, but it was quite a lonely life... always moving on.
I arrived at Coober Pedy, an opal mining place deep in the Australian desert, and sign wrote the only business in town - the BP petrol service station. I tried my hand at opal mining and found a short seam of high quality opal in an old abandoned mine. I sold some of this opal and kept some for sale at better prices in Adelaide.
Then the first rain in many years hit and I was trapped in Coober Pedy. About then, I decided that I had had enough of the wandering life. As soon as the first transport available, a light plane arrived, I gave away the van and flew to Port Augusta in South Australia. Flying south, I saw that the landscape was no longer just red desert, but covered with brilliantly coloured wild flowers interspersed with lakes. Quite beautiful, but I knew that within days, the desert would return. I arrived at Port Augusta, sold all but one piece of opal, and flew back home to Christchurch, New Zealand.
I immediately started business as a signwriter, and gradually branched out into art, design, and all the things I do these days. I also taught night school calligraphy for eight years.
So, there you are, fifty years of art. I still enjoy the challenge, and most of all, I still get a kick out of seeing the joy on customer's faces when I present them with a completed job. That to me is more important than the money. Maybe that is why I never became rich.
Over the years, I have lost count of the many hundreds of jobs I have done - they are scattered all over the planet in galleries, private collections, in business premises and on walls in private homes. I am proud to have been able to bring a little happiness to many people, and know that I have contributed to the betterment of this and future generations.
I hope you enjoy looking at a few of the images that I had thought to photograph over they years. I regret that it is a very sketchy record.
This website is mainly about hand lettering, but over the last few years I have been deeply involved with computer art and design. Part of my business has been restoring and repairing photographs as well - a challenging but rewarding activity. The combination of traditional skills and modern innovations has given me a unique pespective on the subject.
I am also involved in seniornet - passing on my knowledge and experience where possible, as knowledge kept to yourself is knowledge wasted.
Dafyd the Scribe, 2009:06:25
