As creatives in a hard working city full of the hundred year old brick buildings we love to see a master at work. If you have ever seen him painting a wall or hanging off of high-up scaffolding you can’t help but to stop and watch. Ches Perry of Right Way Signs is one of the few sign painting masters in Chicago and we are lucky enough to hear his stories at the next CreativeMorning. We asked Ches a few primer questions to get everyone excited for the upcoming conversation. 

1. What do people know you for? People know me for my love and passion of sign painting. It was a trade that I stumbled into by accident because when I came here from Canada to go to school, I thought I had enrolled in a school to learn commercial art ( graphic design in current day form). But it ended up being a school that focused on sign painting, layout and design, but all related to signs. I purchased Brownie Signs in Evanston in 1980 from the owner, Henri “Brownie” LeBrun, and my nickname quickly became “Brownie”, the sign painter who in the 1980s and a  good chunk of the 90s, was the sign painter in Evanston that lettered almost 90% of the signs in that community.
2. How is Chicago special for you? Chicago is special for me because its where I got my start in sign painting, developed a successful career and raised a family. Its also special because its a town that value and promotes creativity and art and that has helped me be successful.
3. What may people not know about you? People that know me really well know that I am a die hard hockey fan. What people do not know is that at age 64 I still play a few times a week. Back in the 1980s I would play 3 times a week on top of 18 hour work days. 
4. What drives your creativity? The completed project drives my creativity. Knowing I am putting my mark on Chicago through sign painting and the appreciation our client and the public have is what keep me going. Seeing what starts out on an 8”x11” piece of paper and ends up on the side of a wall, 20’x50’ with 50,000 people seeing each day is what drives my creativity. 
5. What are you going to talk to us about this month? I am going to talk about sign painting as a lost art and trade, the process, the revival of sign painting present day and the future of sign painting as a business. 

You can see Ches’ perfect serifs and sorts all around Chicago and meet him in person Friday July 25th, where he talks to us about Heritage. Registration begins at 11am on Monday July 21st.