If you’re looking for something unique to add to your gallery wall or would like to buy a gift for someone who values handmade items and traditional skills, this blog is for you. We’ll be sharing details of Joby Carter’s range of fine art prints which feature his unique hand painted lettering created using traditional signwriting techniques.
Traditional signwriting skills take time to master and to create
Joby Carter is a leading expert in traditional signwriting with over 30 years’ experience in signwriting, fancy lettering and fairground art. Millions of people know him as the owner of Carters Steam Fair, the world’s largest travelling vintage funfair which toured the UK until 2022.
Unlike modern digital art designers today, Joby creates artwork without the use of a computer. He creates letter art using traditional techniques that have been passed down through the centuries, skills that can be traced back to the Victorian age.
Each of his hand painted signs take several stages to create, sometimes over a period of days with careful thought going into each stage. All designed and painted by hand, no computer layouts or masking tape to help get straight edges. There’s no digital fast track option available – Joby really does have to wait for the paint to dry at times!
Signwriting was at risk of dying out
Signwriting was at risk of dying out when modern manufacturing processes came into use: these days you’ll see vehicles wrapped with vinyls rather than featuring lettering painted by hand by a signwriter. Joby has always valued the traditional skills and has pledged to champion them through his signwriting courses, books and social media. Signwriting may not be taught in schools or colleges anymore, but Joby has taught thousands of people to signwrite in his career.
Fairground art lettering styles and influences
With his unique experience of growing up on a travelling vintage funfair (Carters Steam Fair), fairground art styles feature in Joby’s work. Fairground art was added to the Heritage Crafts ‘Red List’ of endangered craft forms which are at risk of dying out in the next generation, Joby’s prints help ensure that the legacy of fairground art lives on.
How long does it take to create a traditional sign?
Painting lettering accurately is a skill to master with lots of practice involved. In the above image you can see examples of fancy lettering techniques such as using a shadow or block to make the letters feel like they are jumping out from the sign. These are techniques which an experienced signwriter might use (Joby teaches them on his fancy lettering course).
Joby has lots of variance in the designs he paints. Some signs are painted relatively quickly using a chinagraph pencil to make out the spacing and then a ‘casual’ style of lettering that makes the most of the brush to create smooth flowing letters.You can add lots of different decorative flourishes to ‘casual’ lettering making it full of variety and character. In the image below No Riff Raff, Cash is King and Gurt Lush are all painted using a ‘casual’ style of lettering. These hand painted signs are available as to buy from Joby’s wall art range and some are available in A5 prints or as fridge magnets.
When designs become more elaborate and intricate such as Joby’s ‘Supermum’ design which has three dimensional effects, it takes much longer to create the design. A bespoke design like this has multiple stages and would typically cost a minimum of a thousand pounds.
Joby says:
“This fancy lettering design was quite complex. I drew it out onto a pre-prepared signwriting board to paint. I wanted it to look fun and three dimensional, as if you could grab hold of the letters on the page.
There are versions of this style of lettering with the offset block in my book ‘All the fonts of the fair’. The design itself is something that was created without reference, off the cuff although a lifetime surrounded by retro fairground art and lettering probably helped with the inspiration. One of the joys of being a professional signwriter with your own styles is that you can create bespoke designs. This is very much my personal style of lettering: fun, vibrant and eye catching.”
Striking signwriting designs available as fine art prints
Knowing how long it can take to create bespoke hand painted signs and with lots of custom requests filling up his working week, Joby has created a range of fine art prints featuring his designs to help make them accessible to more people.
Each print features one of Joby’s signs which he has painted using traditional signwriting techniques. We then work with a trained and qualified fine art technician to ensure that the design comes to life through the scan and onto the print.
We use a premium printing process for this with lightfast inks and acid-free fine art paper which is known as giclee printing. It means that the print has striking colours that won’t fade once they are on display in your sunny kitchen or office.
Joby’s prints are created by a British company working to the highest industry standards who are a member of the Fine Art Trade Guild. The prints are available in a range of sizes from £15 for an A5 print to £45 for an A3 print and they fit into standard frames available from many high street retailers.
See the range of fine art prints by Joby Carter.
Limited edition letter art prints
For an extra special print, choose one of the limited-edition designs. There are only 50 prints of each of these artworks and each one is numbered and then signed by hand by Joby. This adds to their worth and many artwork fans enjoy collecting limited edition pieces.
These designs are available for £100 while stock last.
See the range of limited edition prints by Joby Carter.
What’s the difference between a print and a fine art print?
Anyone can create a print if they have a colour printer and a computer at home or in their office. But to create a print with striking colours that won’t fade once they are on display in your sunny kitchen or office takes a more complex process. A fine art print is created when high-quality pigment-based inks are used alongside acid-free fine art paper, this process is known as giclee printing.
Giclee is a fancy word for a really premium grade printing process which uses 10 different lightfast ink colours.
Joby has also chosen to use the very best premium paper quality for these prints: the prints are created using museum grade digital fine art papers by Hahnemühle. Not only do the colours look vibrant, they will also stand the test of time so you’ll get many years of enjoyment from them when they are on display.
How can I display the prints on a gallery wall?
Joby’s fine art prints are available in a range of standard sizes including A5, A4 and A3. This means that they will fit into standard frames and mounts available from high street shops such as IKEA, Habitat, John Lewis or your local framing shop.
Who would enjoy a gift of a fine art print featuring Joby Carter’s lettering?
Hand painted lettering has a broad appeal and is an ideal gift for anyone with a love of lettering such as graphic designers or tattoo artists. Joby’s work is also enjoyed by those who may have grown up surrounded by traditional skills before computers took over. His lettering styles are often inspired by vintage fairground lettering found at British fairgrounds which gives them a nostalgic feel.
If you have someone who enjoys a slower paced hobby such as crochet, gardening or baking then they are likely to appreciate the time it takes to create a lettering design by hand.
You may also find that the words Joby has painted will resonate with someone you know: is there a loved one in your life that forgets everything? Then ‘keys, phone, wallet sanity’ might be just what they need in their hallway!
Find out more
You can see the full range of prints in Joby Carter’s wall art range.
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