UPDATE 4/24 Hub on hiatus

UPDATE 4/24 Thanks for the kind words in the comments section, you guys. It means a lot!


UPDATE 2/25:  My main desktop computer where I spend most of my time "blogging" and using art/photo software is STILL down and quite honestly, I really don't know what my next move will be. I've been procrastinating on troubleshooting the problem, mainly because I'm not much of a computer hardware guy and I really don't know what I'm doing.

Unfortunately, that only leaves me with Internet access on my Kindle and leaves me in limbo regarding my art software and whether it and my computer can be recovered and/or replaced.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm sort of putting my head in the sand so to speak. It certainly isn't motivating having a serious lack of submission material and correspondence at this blog lately. I'm starting to question the amount of time and energy I put in to keep it updated, and that's never a good sign (sigh). The support for this venture has dwindled to all-time lows.

On top of all of this, my store (and allegedly our region) is undergoing a new "efficiency drive" when it comes to artist labor hours. I cannot pretend that I am not concerned about the long-term relevancy and yes,the overall future my fellow sign artists and I will have in this company. It's becoming painfully clear in the last  year, that our job title and role in the company is slowly becoming more and more "ambiguous". That has me worried. I certainly hope I am wrong. I truly love my job as a sign artist for TJ's.

TJ's Artist Hub will continue to be on hiatus until further notice.

Guys, I'm dealing with a dead computer right now, so bear with me. I'll be back as soon as possible! Thanks!

Where Flavor MEATS Value

Miguel contacted me recently with a recent addition to a new Trader Joe's opening up in Houston, TX.

"Helped open Houston, Texas store. Here's a couple of pics!" ~ Big Mig #213

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Yo, love it, Big Mig! Man oh man....this sucka is BIIIIIGGGG. I love seeing those empty store shelves behind it so you can really gauge the proportion & scale you were working with. Like so many of us know....this...is...not...easy for a lot of people.  It takes a helluva lot of practice, skill & honestly, COURAGE to work in this scale. If you ever see a blank canvas this big, you know the initial intimidation that goes along with it.

Miguel, you really conquered it, man. The pure precision of the cuts on the side (masonite board?), the definitive black outline to give it some "punch", the gradation behind the lettering to give it depth and the MASTERFUL type to give it character and demand customers attention.............................
Magnificent, buddy. Great choice in that "old west"-style font and the attention to detail in the layout are just phenomenal.

"Where Flavor MEATS Value".....oooo.....someone is stealing that one. Maybe me....hahahaahahaa......how perfect that is for the Meat Department and stamping Trader Joe's incredible value statement on something so gorgeous.

 

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....and sticking with that Big Texas theme, Miguel does another wonderful job thanking the wonderful customers on their way out of their new TJ's! Some great, flowing banners with a nice Western font create a nice flow and incorporate the "TJ's-ifying" element of the logo Captain's love AND a sense of community with the "Lonestar" rockin' the colors. The sign is a nice eye-catcher, breaks up that yellow wall (oooo...same exact color of our painted parts) and has a nice defining cut around it (which is never an easy task.)

Kudos, Miguel! It's great to have you aboard and I'm sure your insight & work will be a valued commodity here! Don't be a stranger after you help with this store!

Anyone else helping to open a new store???

Share whatever you got- pics, ideas, comments at tjsarthub@hotmail.com

Awww, nuts!

Today's post is from my home store & was one of the first projects assigned to my fellow sign artist, Alex, who is the newest "kid on our block" (even though he's been with us for awhile...hahaahha)

This was a project our Captain threw at him early on in the game and one of the reasons I enjoy it is I can remember the "mentor anxiety" I sort of had for him. You know, when you put yourself in someone's shoes and kind of get nervous for an experience that you have shared with them. I know I had never been asked to tackle a bigger display project when I first started as a sign artist at TJ's, and when I finally did, I was pretty freakin' scared. Alex handled this bad-boy like a champ.

 

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I'm pretty sure this is foam core, but I may have to confirm that with him. All I know is, when I get asked to do the "still-life"-food thing, I usually can't get it the way the boss likes. I tend to create those cartoony, "bullet"-style graphics, where Alex has a great eye for adding texture & shading and really giving his images a "fine art" stylistic touch. He works wonders for having to do a giant rainbow of nuts!!! Hahahaaha....THIS was definitely one the Captain personally requested and was specific about imagery. Man, I just don't think you could get it any more spot on. It was just what our boss wanted.

Alex does a lot of his signs in acrylic paint and really gets a bulk of work with our window paintings and heftier displays that call for this natural, fine art style.

Too bad the "Make your own Trek Mix" promotion kind of fizzled out like so many promotions do. I think we keep this guy up just cuz' it's great for drawing attention to our fabulous selection of dried fruits and nuts!

 To keep with the theme of this post, I'd love to see your signage, displays or promotions for your dried fruti & nuts section and/of hear about any "daunting tasks" you may have been assigned in the early days of working as a sign artist!

Comment below or send submissions/ideas to: tjsarthub@hotmail.com

Bunches of Banana Brilliance!

Howdy, howdy,howdy! Holiday-bussle hangovers are probably starting to wear off some, right? RIGHT?
I'm hoping some of us out there actually might have a breather and can gather ourselves for some new 2013 projects in our stores. Some of you in big NFL playoff cities may be gearing up for some appetizer/chip promotions....is the company still doing the endcap competition? I think it was this round last year?

Anyway, I wanted to share this magnificent sign Kerri from Store #512 in Hadley-MA sent in. This one is gonna be a GREAT addition to our banana sign collection here at the Hub!

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This one just has a glow of brilliant color! It's just an eye-popper. Kudos to such a great saturation & color selection to really make this sucker pop, Kerri! Yowza!

The dimension & shading of our delicious friend, the banana, is pretty intense and just spot-on in giving it a tremendous amount of depth & realism. The textures & detail on it just really make it look like a giant banana (I'm sure there's a Woody Allen prop gag in there somewhere...haha) This is all attributed to your paint skill; what a remarkable piece of work!

I REEEAAAALLLY love the choice of the turqoise color. It creates a nice backdrop for the black letters and just complements the yellow & green so much! It also looks good against the Trader Joe's wood walls we are all so familiar with; I might have to remember that for future signs.

I'd love to have some feedback from you in the comments, because this sign is big in scale, has some interesting shape to it and looks to be multiple pieces maybe. I think it would really be helpful to a lot of us to give some insight on your process. My guess is that this is masonite board, primered white a couple times to really make those colors brilliant on top. Painted in acrylic?

Thanks for sharing, Kerri. I hope we get to see more work from you and/your husband/fellow TJ's artist SOON!

Send submissions and ideas to: tjsarthub@hotmail.com