
Meet Derek McDonald of Golden West Sign Arts. When Derek isn’t busy playing music with his band the Melancholy Babies, you can find him hand-lettering and pinstriping for Disneyland, or making hand painted signs in his small desert town of Yucca Valley, California.
As the sole sign painter & shop owner of Golden West Sign Arts, Derek prides himself on working with only traditional sign painting techniques, just as a sign shop would have operated 50 or more years ago: utilising paint, brushes and pencils, instead of opting for computers that played a major role in the death of this once blue collar profession. Derek's skill and passion for his craft has led him to work at the original Disneyland in Anaheim, CA within their department that maintains the look of the entire park, hand lettering and doing artwork on a number of different signs and rides around the iconic theme park that are seen by millions of eyes per year.
Derek's other creative outlet is music, with him being the drummer in The Melancholy Babies, a three piece swing/jazz band that plays traditional American standards from the turn of the century to the 1930s. With his love for tradition, combined with his passion for music, we thought who better to invite to create the next Surfa Sam playlist.
At what age did you paint your first sign

What inspired you to pick up a brush and letter your first sign
How long have you been painting for

Who are some of your favourite sign painters current or from the past



To view more of Dereks work visit goldenwestsignpainter.com or follow him here