In general, to me Art should be at minimum entertaining, and if it is any good, thought provoking. A work of art that starts people talking is truly a jewel to be treasured.

When I look at a piece of art I tend to look at it from 2 different angles, as an Artist and as a Craftsman. As an Artist I ask myself “what story is this piece telling?” “How does that story relate to me?” “Did the artist convey any thoughts or emotions to anyone with his art?”

When the Craftsman in me looks at an art piece, I look for artistry and craftsmanship in its production. “Does this piece show innovative use of materials?” “Does this piece exhibit exceptional or uncommon artistry or skill?” The one common theme I have noticed over the years, especially in the contemporary art, is poor workmanship. Nothing is more disappointing than seeing a wonderful painting or sculpture that is mounted on a frame or superstructure that looks like it was made out of scraps found laying around the shop.

With each project I begin, I try to stretch the boundaries of my media, both physically and philosophically. We here at Affordable Neon we have a 15 year reputation for producing museum quality displays. While other artists may sub-contract parts of their work, we produce everything in house. In our state of the art, 7000 square foot manufacturing facility ,we work with materials ranging from plastic forming to high performance TIG welding. The ability to make each and every component of my work gives me complete control over my final product. I believe that the artistry does not end with the design, but begins with it fabrication. From the first sketch to the final installation, attention to detail is paramount.

Drawing on my experience from the sign industry, we produce high quality art work that will continue to be a pleasure to own for years to come.

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This project is a perfect example of an artist sign. The logo was designed by local artist Robert Tatum. This sign was to be a dimensionally shaped sign with exposed neon in a historic district in San Antonio. This was to be a sign that would really honor the style and feel of the 1950’s. I was approached with the project and eagerly agreed to manufacture the sign, as I love this period in Americana and art in general. “I feel the sign industry has really gotten unimaginative and relies on cheap and easy to build square signs with back lit plastic “

The first step was to manufacture the sign cabinet. The two sign faces were cut to shape then welded to an aluminum frame. We then painted the “sign can” and applied state of the art, high performance vinyl logos on each side. We attempted to find an old sign painter, but that is a long dead art form. The last sign painter in the wild was spotted in the early 80’s, around the time computer controlled vinyl cutters were introduced!

Step two was the neon itself. I produced paper patterns of all of the text and hand outlines. “ Exposed text is the living heart of the neon world. This particular sign, due to height restrictions of the historic district, is only 15 feet to the top of the sign. Accuracy and attention to detail was essential on this job”

The next step was to mount the prepared neon units to the sign. This is a time consuming process of marking, drilling and then attaching the units to their tube supports. Inside the can is where all the transformers and switches are mounted.

When all was done, the completed sign was transported to the jobsite and installed on an existing sign pole. ” The final installation was completed without any complications. I use only the finest contractors and vendors. My good friends at SignTek in San Antonio were instrumental in putting the finishing touches on a detail intensive project.”

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