Sean Starr, proprietor of Denton, TX-based Starr Studios, crafts all of his signs and murals the traditional way – painted by hand. He began painting professionally at his father’s shop, Starr Custom Paint in San Antonio, approximately 25 years ago. Demand for handlettered signage grew steadily. Sean founded his own shop in San Francisco in 2005, and relocated to Denton in 2012.
As with any type of handpainted signage, he said his clientele for manually rendered banners remains devoted, yet sporadic: “I’d say we produce approximately one banner per month in my shop. They’re time-consuming and more expensive than digitally printed banners, so they’re not for everyone. But, when it’s a fit for a particular client, he or she goes crazy for it.”
Starr added, “We get most of our work through word-of-mouth referrals. I can’t fulfill every request I receive; if I did, the quality of my work would suffer.”
He produces all of his banners with woven cotton “duck” canvas, and they’re primarily intended for interior use, although they may step outside occasionally.
After painting the fabric with an acrylic-gesso primer (if the material isn’t pre-primed), he decorates it with 1Shot® lettering enamel or TJ Ronan acrylic japan colors, and other coatings compatible with fabric as needed. Because most of their banners must contend with the frequently searing Texas weather, Starr adds 1Shot’s Chromaflo ZZ6000 flow enhancer to improve the paint’s flow and surface stability.
To create his patterns, Starr sketches all designs by hand, and then replicates the design with Adobe® Illustrator® software. Next, he’ll plot the file onto paper with a 24-in.-wide Graphtec cutting plotter. The plotted paper serves only as a guide; Starr paints all of his creations freehand, with brushes, quills and a mahlstick for balance and support.
“Tattoo parlors have become one of my most common types of banner customers,” Starr said. “Their artwork is done by hand, so they appreciate the workmanship required with hand-rendered design. Bands sometimes order them for their backdrops because they provide a more creative look than a standard, printed banner. Coffeehouse and art-gallery owners looking to create a certain ambience are also banner customers.”