Blasted border and dingbat, with glue-chipped and 23K gilded letters with a bright line, chipped background, abalone centers, hand-painted outlines
Router-cut SignFoam HDU letters finished with 1 Shot enamel and 23K gilded faces, hand-carved cupcake and faux finished background on the circle
Gold leaf outline with green heart abalone on the back of the glass
23K gold matte outline with mirror centers, maroon and green painted outlines
Glue-chipped glass and 23K gold leaf with abalone centers, 18K cupcake, sandblasted border
Glue-chipped and 23K gold leaf with variegated gold leaf border and a rag-rolled background
Reverse 23K gilded two-tone gold lettering; curtains are painted on the outside of the glass
23K two-tone gild on the main copy, matte center on Perry Smith, mirror gild on the mission graphic
Detail of glue-chipped glass backed up with 23k gold leaf
Two-tone gilds with 18K and 23K gold using varnish and combining mirror effects, glazes used on the outlines to create beveled effects, plus mother of pearl and abalone

Steve Davidson

Oceanside, California

By signcraft

Posted on Saturday, December 29th, 2018

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Back in the mid-eighties, Steve Davidson, now 56, started taking night classes in the sign program at Los Angeles Trade Tech, where his brother Allan was already attending classes. They planned to go into the sign business together and in 1986, they did. Brothers being brothers, they went separate ways after about six months. Steve bought a Gerber Signmaker IVb and began making signs in his mother’s garage. “In the same year,” Steve says, “I went into business, got married, and we had a child. It was crazy.”

Experience and exposure I’ve had successful times and very lean times over the years. When I first started my business, I would do anything that came my way—plastic faces, hand lettering, cut vinyl, sandblasted signs. I like murals and airbrush work, too.

I worked at a few other sign shops over the years and got some great experience there. I just always preferred painting signs and gold leaf on glass to the other aspects of the business. There’s always been a lot of great work being done in my area and it was an inspiration. Pat Smith is not far away, and he’s one of my heroes in the trade. Rick Glawson taught me a lot. Bill Hueg, David Butler and Tom Zorbas have really inspired me, too. These guys have been in SignCraft and their work is incredible.


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