Have you ever been to an old pub in London and stumbled over one of these stunning beautiful, highly detailed gold leaf signs? For me it was an extraordinary experience and changed my perspective to design heavily. This passion for detail, the rich effects and artistic embellishments blowed my mind. I mean "less is more" is cool, but duuuude these signs are masterpieces! And when you believe that this craftsmanship is a thing of the past, then I can prove you wrong. Gold leaf lettering had a strong revival the last years. Famous sign artists like David Adrian Smith or Paul Banks are creating artworks on glass which arouse great interest and demand by many people.
So today I want to give a little insight into this beautiful craft and share some works of outstanding contemporary glass gilding artists here. As always, if you have any notes, questions or just want to say hi, please comment below ;)
SHOWCASE OF GOLD LEAF LETTERING ON GLASS
PAUL BANKS
Sign Writing, Gold Leaf and Chalkboard Lettering
www.paulbankssigns.com
EDDY BENNETT
Gilding, Lettering and Design
www.eddyartist.com
DAVID ADRIAN SMITH
Traditional Ornamental Glass Artist
www.davidadriansmith.com
LUMINOR SIGN CO.
Hand-Lettered Design, Sign Painting & Gold Leaf
www.luminorsignco.com
ALEX MAY HUGHES
Sign Painter and Glass Gilder
www.alexmayhughes.co.uk
CHICAGOLD SIGN CO.
Sign Artist, Gilder and Gold Leaf Lettering Specialist
www.chicagoldsigns.com
ASHLEY WILLERTON
Traditional Sign Writing and Hand Lettering
www.ashleywillerton.com
11 comments
Hello
Thank you for sharing this! Is there a good reference book for getting started with sign painting, specifically gold leafing?
Wonderful collection of work. I began my design career as a signpainter, taking traditional classes at the local trade school long before the advent of any digital signage. There was only one person in our shop that was allowed to handle any gold lettering. It’s quite a skill to apply. This brings back a lot of memories. Thanks.
Just gorgeous, every one of these pieces.
Hats off to the masters who created them.
ABOVE AND BEYOND !!!!!!!
Absolutely beautiful!
Less was more when it was too costly to embellish, but now revisiting embellishment in the digital age, with amazing fonts like Heritage there is no limit. It’s a good time for a renaissance in embellished art! Love these mirrors.
Magnificent! So good to see all these beautiful works together! It takes years of hard work and dedication to become this good. Walking past one of these beautiful signs in the sunlight just lifts your spirits!
Great artists work, very inspiring. Thank you for sharing
Such exquisite work! And so inspiring! I am thrilled to notice – pretty much everywhere – how this Victorian style signs and lettering has become so popular once more. When done right it’s stunning! Thank you for sharing these images.
This is amazing work. I have been hand lettering for nearly 50 years and I like good work. This is some of the best I’ve ever seen.
Thank you
A great collection of images, beautiful and inspirational!
The combination of chipped, etched, painted, and gold leafed work is a great and elegant look in a mundane world.