The draughtsman, his dog, and a pub sign
Draughtsman Alan Taylor was minding his own business one day when out walking his dog.
Thursday, 24 Apr 2014 12:03 GMT
Saracens head: Alan began his career in the industry back in 1987 and has painted pub signs ever since
It was 26 years ago when the owner of Art Signs stopped and looked up at a pub sign swinging in the breeze above The White Hart near Aldbury.
Alan recalls the pub sign needed repainting. He says: “I looked at it for a while, basically wondering why the White Hart appeared to have a gold crown around its neck. What was the meaning of this? Of course I know now but as I was in those days I thought that I was a
pretty good artist and thought to myself that I could do that, and maybe I could make a living at doing pub signs.”
Incidentally the white hart or stag is associated with the heraldry of Richard II (1367-1400), who inherited the emblem of a stag wearing a crown from his mother Joan, usually known as the Fair Maid of Kent”
Late the same day Alan decided to pop in for a pint and while sipping a glass of ale he had a second epiphany when he got talking to the owner of the nearby Greyhound Inn. The subject of pub signs came up and Alan was given an introduction to the brewery surveyor who commissioned these symbolic works of art. Following the meeting Alan embarked on a new career as a sign-maker and designer of pub signs and of course the rest is history, as two decades later Art Signs continues as a business covering more than just pub signs but vehicle graphics and business signs.
Interestingly some years later Alan was asked to re-paint the sign and provide a complete new facia sign for the pub. The owner had a particular image in mind. He wanted a copy of a 15th century painting called Ucculos' Hunt in the Forest, which was hanging in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. A task Alan completed without hesitation.
Incidentally the white hart or stag is associated with the heraldry of Richard II (1367-1400), who inherited the emblem of a stag wearing a crown from his mother Joan, usually known as the Fair Maid of Kent. Richard’s government enforced the compulsory use of pub signs due to the wide spread illiteracy of the public in world before universal education.
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