'One of the greatest logos of all time' gets a fresh coat of paint

Every month, we feature a new take on the CBC Arts logo created by a Canadian artist. Check out our previous logos!

Sloan Brown's work can be found all over Toronto if you just know where to look. Since launching her sign-painting business (Rookie Signs) earlier this year, Brown's been helping neighbourhood businesses zazz up their storefronts. You can spot her one-of-a-kind handiwork in Kensington (Wildflower Goods), Parkdale (Tammy's), Trinity-Bellwoods (The Sonndr Cafe) and beyond. And Brown doesn't plan on stopping. 

"People appreciate what I do because it's human and reminds them of the past," she writes over email, but Rookie is a relatively new passion for the Edmonton-born artist, who'd already built another commercial art business. In 2017, Brown founded Drake Cereal, a brand based around her fun-loving digital illustrations: prints inspired by things like basketball, streetwear (and other hypebeast-approved subject matter), cheekily remixed with references from art history's greatest hits (Matisse, Picasso, Warhol, etc.). 

But for this assignment, Brown flexed her sign-painting skills, delivering an enamel-on-plywood salute to the GOAT of Canadian logos. Read on.

Name: Sloan Brown

Age: 32

Homebase: The Junction, Toronto

Let's talk about your design! What inspired the concept?

One of the greatest logos of all time is the 1974 CBC logo by Burton Kramer with its bright comic book blue, orange and yellow. I added vintage broadcasting iconography, block lettering and a cool-guy script you might find at a tattoo shop in Kensington. It all came together like I was making soup on Sunday night.

What drew you to sign painting? How did you get into it?

Short story long: it all started at Powell's Bookstore. In the summer of 2021, I was living in Portland, Ore., when I found this book by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon called Sign Painters. Reading stories about sign painters like Norma Jeanne Maloney and Ira Coyne, I knew right then that this would be a career I'd work hard for that I could grow old doing.

That summer, I took a sign-painting workshop with Mike Meyer in Chester, Iowa. Mike taught me everything I could ever know about sign painting, and at the end of the class, he gave me a yellow brush that was owned by Don Springer (a sign painter he grew up admiring) and told me I had the fire in my belly. 

Some folks might be familiar with another art brand of yours, Drake Cereal. Now that you've launched your own sign painting business (Rookie), what's the future of your Drake Cereal project?

It felt important to separate the two things: one identity for illustration (@drakecereal) and the other for sign painting (@rookiesigns). Keeping up with my illustration is super important to me so Drake Cereal will continue to be a place where I push printmaking and share artwork that's fun and irreverent.

What do you love about sign painting versus digital illustration?

Sign painting is slow and physical; it gives me a real sense of purpose to create a sign that brings value to a neighbourhood. Digital illustration is fast, isolating and also very rewarding; it's a creative zone where I can hibernate indoors and self-reflect in the colder months. Both are important in their own ways.

What's the project you're most proud of?

I'll never forget it because it was the first sign I ever painted for a client: Parkdale Cleaners. [The owner] has owned his dry-cleaning shop for over 20 years and told me I could paint whatever I wanted. I designed a suave cartoon character and used a multi-colour vintage font because there's a public school across the street. I love it so much.

Are there any arts events on your radar this fall? What are you excited to check out?

Chilly Gonzales at Massey Hall on Oct. 18 and I really want to see Bottoms because I have a crush on Ayo Edebiri from The Bear.

What's new in your world? What are you working on at the moment?

I'm painting the toilet seats for Parkdale's new queer bar, Three Dollar Bill.

What's your favourite place to see art?

Textile Museum of Canada.

Who's the last artist you discovered online?

Aaron Morse, Cloud World (Shepherd with Wildflowers).

What work of art do you wish you owned?

The Builders (1947) by Jacob Lawrence.

Where can we see more from you?

You can't see me because I'm in bed by 9 most nights.

Try these links if you want to see more of her artwork: www.rookiesigns.com and www.drakecereal.com

This conversation has been edited and condensed.