1984, It Begins in Texas!
My father, Dale Starr formed the first incarnation of the company in San Antonio, Texas and called it Starr Custom Paint. I joined later in 1988 (when I was 20) and we worked together as co-owners until my Dad’s death in 1994. We painted graphics on everything from trucks to airplanes, and this is when I was first exposed to hand painted lettering.
During these years, we covered a lot of ground from all over South Texas cities like Austin and San Antonio, to the West Texas towns of Big Spring and San Angelo. Most of this time was spent working out of the back of Dad’s Chevy Caprice Station Wagon, sometimes traveling several hundred miles a day to take care of our customers.
Little Known Fact: Dale Starr was once a Golden Gloves Boxer, published several books under a pen name and refused to allow ketchup, mustard or any other condiments on the dinner table (he found them utterly disgusting.) He was the son of Ukrainian immigrants and a self taught commercial artist whose designs graced thousands of vehicles.
1995, Go West Young Man!
After closing the business in 1995 following Dad’s death, I moved to Seattle and started Picasso’s Graphic Design and Signs. In 1999 I took a job offer working at the now defunct Karagraphics as one of their designers creating signage for national clients such as Crate & Barrel and Freightliner Trucks.
During this period, everything I worked on was digital, computer generated (and I hated every minute of it!) I still monkeyed around in my garage with brushes and paint, but really hated my day job. In retrospect, it was a really valuable time that I was able to hone my design skills.
2005, It’s All About The Art!
In 2005, I made my way to San Francisco and established Starr Studios. I was fortunate enough to be able to exhibit my original art work in galleries all over the United States including a New York exhibit in 2006 as well as a 4 month long project painting at 11 wineries in Napa Valley, California.
It was also during this time that I was privileged to have several books published including “The Artist’s Tao: 44 Principles for an Artist’s Life” as well as “You, Me and Morrissey” which was made an Official Entrant for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in Letters.
This period started a wide variety of design and signage projects for some very high profile clients and got the studio fully up and running.
2010 ’til Today: Full Swing!
In 2010, my wife Kayleigh and I really started to put things together and were able to build out our “dream studio” while serving clients large and small. Our work has been featured on the Discovery Channel, NBC Television, The Food Network, the 2010 Winter Olympics, as well as industry publications such as Digital Output Magazine, This Old House, Sign Builder Illustrated and we are a regular contributor to SignCraft Magazine. Our studio is featured in the documentary “The Sign Painter Movie” due for release in 2012.
After more than 20 years when I first started working with my Dad, we have come full circle and do the work I first learned and loved. We make our signs the old fashioned way, by hand, and use techniques and tools that have been around for hundreds of years. We also utilize computer aided design to provide predictable, modern results where required.
What a long, strange trip it’s been…
