Hem Weald makes painted signs for buildings and spaces. Each sign is drawn by hand and brushed with care. The work begins with ink on paper, then moves to surface and paint. What matters is legibility, proportion, and colour that holds over time.
Process
Work starts on paper with pencil and ink. Proportions are checked. The design moves to the surface as a light layout. Paint is applied in layers. Lettering is brushed by hand. The sign dries fully before varnish. Haste is avoided.
Place
A studio with north light, long workbenches, and racks for drying. The walls hold samples and sketches. Brushes soak in jars. Paint sits in tins and tubs. The room smells of oil and resin. It is quiet and cool.
Materials
Oil-based enamels and acrylics on timber, metal, and plaster. Brushes of natural hair. Gold leaf and Japan size for detail. Primers and varnishes chosen for durability. All materials work together to weather seasons without fading quickly.
Notes from the studio
Notes about the light in the room where a piece will end up travel with the drawing. Proportions are checked against a single card of ratios that has not changed in a long while. A shape that is hurried at the sketch stage tends to stay hurried all the way through. A drawing is redone until the proportions read cleanly from across a room.
Pigments are ground by hand from a short list: raw umber, yellow ochre, bone black. Sheet brass is left to darken on its own rather than lacquered. Every batch of finish is labelled with the day it was mixed and the wood it was tried on. Offcuts go into small studies instead of the bin.