This window sign is done with 23k gold leaf and paint, in a process called reverse glass gilding. Reverse, because the image is rendered on the inside of the glass, to read from the outside. It's a fairly complex process, requiring a specific set of proceedures, from cleaning the glass to applying the gold to painting the colors and backing. I don't have opportunities to do much of this kind of work, which is a shame, really. Like a lot of traditional techniques, it has been replaced by cheap substitutes, such as the cheesy fake-gold vinyl films that are cut on a computerized plotter. The average customer usually doesn't know the difference unless they have a direct, side-by-side comparison; more to the point, the majority of modern sign makers can't be bothered to learn any technique that takes more than ten minutes and isn't disgorged by a computer with minimal effort. They tend to invest in machinery, rather than in developing basic skills, and the results are, for the most part, depressingly dull, artificial and predictable.

Admittedly, it's difficult to display the detail and power of this kind of work in a photo. What makes glass gilding so effective, when seen in person, is the play of reflected light and shadow best described as movement. The mirror-like reflection of the gold captures the motions of objects before it, attracting the attention of the viewer as he or she passes before it. This is why I describe images like these as not merely seen, but experienced. No artificial "gold" foil or digital print can create this magical sense of movement, for which there is literally no substitute.

There are more photos of this type of signage at my website, www.finestkindsign.com