SIGNWRITING - TRADITIONAL CANAL DECORATION - GRAINING - COACH PAINTING
OF NARROW BOATS AND WIDE BEAM CANAL BOATS

Phil Speight is one of the best known and most influential boat painters of his generation.

His reputation has grown over 30 years of working to the highest standards as a coach painter, signwriter and boat decorator. During the last decade and half of his career he has also helped and trained many of today's most popular professionals.

Phil was born in Bradford in 1948 and attended BelleVue Grammar School before he spent a less than amicable year at Art College ! He learnt his craft once he'd left – first as a coach painter and later as a scenery painter. By a roundabout route, with many interesting ( if not necessarily sensible ) diversions on the way Phil finally became a full time canal professional – to the exclusion of all else – in the early Eighties. Based first on the Leeds to Liverpool Canal, he moved to Ellesmere Port for a period of six years before eventually settling into Dadford's Wharf on the Stourbridge Canal in 1995. There, most recently as part of Craftmaster Paints, he shares premises with Ian Kemp and Dave Harris, two truly legendary boatbuilders.

John Sanderson , who has worked with Phil for 17 years, is a coach painter of the highest standard and he has now taken over the actual boat painting business - as a part of Phil's gradual slide into old age and , hopefully in a while , semi-retirement. Until that happy day arrives Phil will work for John (although who will now make the tea is the subject of some prolonged debate) as designer/signwriter/boat decorator. That will carry on until Phil's brilliant protégé Meg Gregory takes over. Still some time away - but one day........

In the meantime both Phil and Meg ( usually together ) are available for general signwriting of all types on boats and heritage vehicles. Or most other things for that matter!

Craftmaster Ltd., the paint company formed by Phil and Zita in 1999 to develop and market a range of high quality "heritage" paints with HMG of Manchester has now been superseded by a new company - Craftmaster Paints Ltd. www.craftmasterpaints.co.uk . While the head office and administration/dispatch departments are in Over near Cambridge, Zita will continue to handle sales from Wordsley and Phil will carry on with product development and offer technical assistance to any customer who needs it from the office in Wordsley ( 01384 48555 ).

We still have our passions in tact - Zita , of course , for all things equine, Phil for old Alfa Romeos and music. He's actually started playing guitar again - but has discovered that age doesn't improve the fingers any ! We still have the mad collie dog Charlie and have leased a cottage in The Highlands - just in case the retirement thing ever actually happens.
 

Click to see more examples of Phil and John's work. (There's a lot of photos here, it might take a little time to download!)

Phil is available to tutor courses on boat decoration and also on boat painting itself both on his own behalf and for any other organisation .

He also gives an interesting, educative, entertaining and possibly challenging lecture -" The Rise and Fall of English Narrow Boat Decoration" to boat clubs and other interested parties.
 

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