Cat Signs, Cats Are Like Potato Chips

“Cats Are Like Potato Chips” is my design and stenciled hand-lettered by me in acrylic paint on weathered wood reclaimed from a neighbor’s old stockade fence. I create each sign individually and the wood surface varies so each sign is unique. This sign measures 10″ wide x 3.5″ tall and has a sawtooth hanger on the back.

Cats are like potato chips, it’s hard to have just one.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

I remember having seen this quote on a refrigerator magnet in a friend’s house at least 25 years ago. It probably had some resonance with those who remember the Lay’s potato chip commercial. I’ve not seen it since and I have no idea who came up with it, but it’s totally true and it’s not copyrighted, so I decided I had to use it. It makes everyone laugh when I say it.

The cat silhouette design is adapted from one of my daily sketches, “Pink Sunshine”. Because I wanted the cat silhouettes to look like a repeating pattern I wanted them to be as identical as possible. In this case handpainting, because of the wood surface, didn’t give me the effect I wanted, I cut a stencil for the cat silhouettes and then add the whiskers.

Kitty in Pink, solid black

I just started doodlin around in my studio with some nice weathered wood from my neighbor’s old stockade fence. Originally they were hand-painted, not stenciled. I was a sign painter 30 years ago and I’ve wanted to paint some decorative signs since they’ve become popular again. I gave the wood and the paint and two designs a try, then decided on four designs and started painting.

Because of that I began painting these signs freehand with outlines I traced on the wood and that worked fine with the first pieces of wood I used that I’d chosen because they were nice and smooth. However, in real life, most of the wood is not smooth but has rough finishes, stamped patterns from being cut, and splits and holes from nails and weather.

The wood is very rough and weathered so I give it a sanding, then wipe it down with a tack cloth. Now the larger areas on the signs are stenciled, and the text is hand-lettered. I try to find a smooth area for the text for each sign. There is no way to smooth out the surface so I just deal with it as I paint.

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See more Signs in my Handmade Gift Gallery.

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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.