Today we’d like to introduce you to Todd Sanders.
Hi Todd, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I started studying graphic art in college, then worked in the field before shifting to fine art. I painted signs to pay tuition at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas but saw my future during a spring break trip that took me through Austin. My buddy and I were driving to New Braunfels and missed our turn. We ended up in Austin, and in the first 10 minutes, I saw the neon signs and felt the city’s vibe, and it hit me: I’m going move to Austin and build neon signs. I quit college and headed to Austin. I lived in a vintage camping trailer and pestered the owners of a neon sign shop until they finally hired me for a short-term project. I worked for them for three years, learning everything I could before starting my own sign business in 1995. I worked as a commercial sign builder for 10 years, and when I finally gained the confidence to become a fine artist, I still had all this passion for neon signs. I took that and turned it into neon pop art. It took so many years to learn the craft; I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if I’d started as an artist. I’m glad things progressed as they did because it allowed me to learn the technical aspects that make my work authentic.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
When I garnered the courage to open my sign shop, I needed a place to work from. I fell in love with an old neighborhood grocery store in South Austin. It was falling apart, and the roof collapsed sometime in the 1980s when they closed the store. I squinted and saw my dream, but many people I respected told me I was crazy. It took years of working without a roof, without AC, without a proper place to sleep, but I’ve turned it into what the New York Times and The Guardian have included in their must-see in Austin lists.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have built a career designing and creating original, entirely handmade neon works using time-honored techniques developed by sign masters from the 1940s. I start with hand-drawn design, which I use to develop full-scale paper patterns for the metalwork, the paint, and neon. I give the neon pattern to my neon bender, Gary Kemple, who bends neon- and argon-filled vacuum tubes to the shapes on the pattern. Gary has to bend everything in reverse, as the flat part of the neon is what you see on the pattern. A metal fabricator uses that pattern to shape the metal on which the neon is mounted. Once the metal is done, I paint and weather it, causing it to rust naturally via an accelerated aging process I developed. I have a week to accomplish what Mother Nature takes 50 years to do, but the result looks the same. The finished art has a timeless feel. When people see my work, they often think they are restored pieces. They are, in fact, new works of art, 100% handmade using modern electrical components. What previously required large, cumbersome electric transformers to power now uses small/ light units hidden inside the metal base created for the neon. My work is collected by celebrities including Willie Nelson, Edie Brickell/ Paul Simon, Shepard Fairey, Joe Rogan, Kacey Musgraves, Johnny Depp, and Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top).
We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking.
Being called a “Dreamer” is no compliment where I come from. I recall it being used around the dinner table to describe unsuccessful people. People couldn’t face reality, and the reality for a boy in East Texas was to do the things your Daddy did. You rolled up your sleeves and picked up tools, not paintbrushes. I learned to use all those practical tools from my father. I learned to make things with my hands. To love being in a shop. But all the while, I was thinking of those paintbrushes of art. I took a risk in moving away from my family and small town to a big city where I hardly knew anyone. I took a risk by going out alone and opening my sign shop. I took a risk in weathering the signs I made to appear old, forging an industry of vintage-style neon signs. I took a risk buying a falling building and turned it into my shop. I risked losing my successful commercial sign business to make fine art. If I didn’t take risks, I wouldn’t be doing what I do today. Even if I won the lottery, I would continue to go into the studio daily and do what I love.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.roadhouserelics.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roadhouserelics/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoadhouseRelics/
Image Credits
Photo of Todd by David Hume Kennerly, Photos of Todd with Yellow Rose by Jennie Kim, All other photos by Roadhouse Relics
