On Friday December 7th 2007, Bordertown Institute hosted a vibrant exhibition of work by local sign writer Brett Carr. Brett has lived in the area since he was 14 years old and has been in the sign writing business for 30 years. At school he concentrated on his art and can remember wanting to be a sign writer since he was "about six years old". He is however self-taught, with no tertiary training and his high standard is a testament to the passion he feels for his craft.

Brett created a selection of artwork on canvas specifically for the exhibition and found the different surface interesting to work with.

He enjoys painting on metal because the use of gloss coats creates deeper images. His own car being a canvas for a startling vibrant design.

Brett describes himself as a dinosaur in an industry moving towards computer generated art. "I started out just using brushes in the traditional style, then when computer cut signage came in, I used that as well, but I got bored with just making cut-outs all day." He now uses a combination of traditional brush, cut signs, and airbrush painting by hand, to create a three dimensional illusion. He believes this gives his product an edge in the market-place, enabling him to produce work that can be individually tailored to suit each client, moving away from the trend for totally computer generated signage. Digital printing is the next new technology on offer and Brett will probably incorporate that into his style as well.

Each piece is unique and he takes pride in the resulting art saying as our photographer left the exhibition, "make sure you get a photo of the kangaroos...".

As part of a portfolio of his business signage, was a photo of a toilet seat that Brett had painted with a scarily realistic air brushed spider poised to attack the unwary. This portfolio showed the enormous range of his skill and clientele.

Brett is just as happy "winging it freestyle on a Christmas shop window" as he is working on a vehicle, or his specialized art pieces. As he says "I love my work and I have made it my life"

Editor

BorderOnline