For the last few years I had the honor of working off and on with legendary cartoonist and sign painter Justin Green. We met on a project that saw us leading a team of apprentices in creating a deck of “Cincinnati music legends” cards for Shake it Records in Cincinnati. We worked on a few failed sign pitches after that and kept a loose working relationship. Working with Justin was a true gift, he was incredibly generous with his time and would openly share the type of art techniques and tips that only come from decades of commitment to the pen and the brush. I was honored when Justin approached me about taking on the job of refreshing his most iconic sign, the marquee above the door of Shake it Records! I have been marveling at this sign for most of my life, feeling cool whenever I recognized an artist depicted on the sign, and being too sheepish to ever ask about the ones I didn’t recognize. The sign has been up for… 23 years I think? It features a bold logo design and eight portraits of iconic musicians. Justin would periodically replace the portraits as they became too weather damaged, but in his declining health, he hadn’t made any updates in a while and the whole sign was showing its age.

Justin asked me to take on the gig, painting eight new portraits and giving the sign a fresh coat of paint. I got a lot of tips from Justin along the way as I worked on the portraits “remember, your target audience is someone in the KFC parking lot across the street” and “This is not fine art!” as well as tips on painting in ways that would hold up best to the elements. The only tip I didn’t take was “don’t coat them with anything, let mother nature have her say!” I ended up coating them with a UV protectant… I was too paranoid that I’d go back a week after install and they’d all have faded to white… I’m sorry Justin. Time will probably prove him right, maybe the coating will peel off like a sticker and take the portraits with it! We’ll see.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I still can’t believe it happened. To be connected to Justin Green and Shake it Records in any way makes the underground comics and music obsessed 14 year old version of me proud. I learned about all the music, and movies, and comics that I love by going to Shake it Records.

Rest in peace Justin Green, I can’t thank you enough for all you taught me in the short time I got to know you.