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An original hand-painted Rat Fink done by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. I brought this home from his
1986 Rat Fink Reunion.
edroth.com
As a kid growing up in Southern California in the '60s I was influenced
by the work of car culture icon Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and surf
culture artist Rick Griffin, who along with Stanley Mouse and others spearheaded
the San Francisco psychedelic rock poster era. What I loved about those
guys was that they were true to themselves and followed their hearts.
As a kid I would spend hours drawing and painting those letter styles
on my bedroom wall, friend's bicycles, and whatever surface was available.
A couple of lesser-known local artists including Tom Jones, a sign painter
in San Diego, also inspired me. I was always fascinated by lettering,
whether it was hand painted, chiseled into ancient stone buildings, or
antique type faces dating all the way back to Gutenberg’s invention
of movable type.
A feeble attempt to paint lettering on the doors of my neighbor's tow
truck led me to my first job in a sign shop, California Neon in 1973.
My first day on the job was spent cleaning pigeon manure out of old neon
signs. Since I showed up the next day my boss, Fred Smith let me paint
the eyes on Jack in the Box clown heads, the kind somebody wore over their
head dressed up in a clown suit waving at cars in front of the restaurant.
One of the many important things that Fred taught me was "Always
do a GOOD job. We do good work here, we're not just another sign company".
A few years later at one of Ed Roth's Rat Fink Parties, I met pin-striping
legend and all around eccentric artist Von Dutch (who people today think
was a clothing designer, since his name is all over T-shirts, baseball
caps and even energy drinks). I asked him what advice he could give a
guy starting out and he said "just do good work".
I was laid off from California Neon with the energy crunch of '74 and
spent a few years at different jobs and attending Grossmont College majoring
in Technical Scientific Illustration. Eventually I was drawn back to sign
work. I searched libraries for early 20th century design books by E.C.
Mattews and Frank Atkinson. I devoured Strong's book of designs, tracing
over designs to save them for inspiration.
I went to shops and picked the brains of every sign painter who would
talk to me. A lot of them wouldn't talk back then. I once approached an
old master lettering artist painting a store window and tried to ask him
some questions. He would not reveal anything, probably out of fear of
someone learning his trade secrets, so I watched him from my truck across
the street with binoculars.
In the early 1980's the computer age brought huge changes to the sign
and graphics industries but the one thing that didn't change was the importance
of good design. Whether it’s drawn by hand or a computer, good design
is the basis for all effective graphics. The computer is nothing more
than a tool. Nobody ever tells a good writer they must have the latest
software to write well. Nobody tells a good cook they must have the most
expensive pots and pans for their food to taste good. What they have is
skill and passion for their work.
My business philosophy has always been pretty simple. Do good work. Show
up on time and finish when promised if at all possible. Never try to sell
a customer something that's not in their best interest. If you have a
satisfied customer they will never go anywhere else.
I've made a good living doing what I enjoy. I believe that even a small,
inexpensive job deserves a good design. Not necessarily fancy or elaborate,
but well thought out. The best designs are usually deceptively simple,
with some kind of unique, clever twist, when the job calls for it.
I don't know where the road leads from here, but I'm following it anyway.
I'm grateful to all of my past customers and to all the people I've learned
from, not only about artwork but also about the art of living.
Chuck Peterson Graphics . 1200 Opal Drive . Prescott, AZ 86303 . (tel)
928.708.9284