Drawing Power : Window Painters Give Retailers Extra Pull During the Holidays

Holiday season after holiday season, painter Carl Danella creates works that are seen by hundreds of people a day. And after a few weeks, those who commission Danella’s art destroy it.

Such is the life of a Christmas window painter. They endure cold weather, long days, finicky clients, increasing regulation of signs and, worst of all, rain that makes their water-based colors run. But window painters don’t seem to mind because business is booming.

Many window artists are year-round professional sign painters who get to stretch their creative muscles, trading in “Sale! Sale! Sale!” and “3.9% Financing!” for Santa, Frosty and Rudolph. Or they are commercial artists, muralists or hobbyists, looking for some extra money during the holidays.

“I do them year in and year out,” said Danella, who started painting Christmas themes on business windows about 30 years ago. “There isn’t much call for other holidays,” he added.

The quality of window painting varies widely, from crudely stenciled figures to intricate paintings that are signed by the artists. The cost can range from as little as $10 to a few hundred dollars for big, detailed jobs.

Santa, elves, reindeer and snowmen are always favorites, artists report, along with snowflakes, trees, wreaths, candles, ornaments and toys. Menorahs and dreidels (spinning tops) sometimes are included. Occasionally, “Bah, Humbug” is requested. The more ecumenical “Seasons Greetings” and “Happy Holidays” are selected with increasing frequency.

“You get so sick by the end of the season of painting Santa Claus and elves that you just want to scream,” said Fountain Valley resident Debi Bergeron, who paints murals in homes during most of the year but took up window painting 17 years ago as a hobby.

Any business with a bit of glass is a candidate, although the most frequent spots appear to be automobile dealerships, restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores. The advent of mini-malls has meant more windows, and sales competition among businesses has created more work than many of the artists can handle.

“There is a limited market for this year-round, but at Christmas they go crazy; they all want them. It’s sort of like a panic,” said Wendy Knittle, who painted windows with her husband William for 10 years. In the three years since his death, she has continued on her own. “There’s more call for it then there are people to do it.”

Santa Monica commercial artist John Weaver, who paints 200 to 300 windows each holiday season, said he gets 20 to 30 calls a day from businesses asking him to paint their windows.

“There are a lot of windows to do, and there’s an extreme amount of pressure on a window person,” Weaver said. “They want it done all on the same day.”

The work can be physically demanding, Weaver said. He frequently hires helpers only to lose them after one day on the job.

“It’s not as much fun as it looks. It’s like aerobics for 8 or 10 hours a day,” Weaver said. “I have a steady chiropractor during the holidays.”

Businesses say they have their windows painted as a form of advertising or simply to contribute to the holiday spirit.

“We are jolly people,” said Ram Chillar, general manager of Glendale Nissan & Volkswagen, which features Santa, reindeer and other seasonal themes on its large windows. “We want people to have some warm feeling when they come into the dealership.”

Every year, Con Surfboards’ windows sport Santa on a surfboard doing a different maneuver.

“We’re in the spirit of having tons of fun and we’re in the spirit of giving,” said Craig Small, assistant manager of the Santa Monica store. “We like to make it bright and obnoxious. . . . It brings people in.”

Orange County Pawn Shop paints its windows for every holiday and advertises sales that way, too, said manager Joe Fernandez. “We’re located on the corner of a very busy intersection,” he explained, estimating that at least 25% of the store’s customers are drawn by something they see painted on the window.

Artist Weaver said the paintings “afford a better visibility to a business, and visibility is important when so many businesses are side by side.”

Many communities are now regulating all forms of business signs--including temporary painted signs, often requiring that only 20% or one third of a window can be covered, he said. The proliferation of rules has been hard on some businesses that can’t afford other forms of advertising, he said. “Some businesses would actually starve without window painting.”

Tough economic times cause some firms to cut out Christmas window painting or to turn to cheaper painters who don’t do a very good job, artists say.

“There are some terrible, terrible jobs out there,” Danella said. “I don’t know how they get paid.”

“This year with the fall of the stock market, I have noticed that not very banks are being painted,” Bergeron said. “Last year, I must have done two dozen banks and this year I didn’t do one.”

Most window painters say they have outgrown the pangs they first felt over the fleeting lives of their works, which they usually preserve on film to show to future clients and to remember their grander efforts.

“I take pictures. I can’t resist it,” Knittle said. “It’s the only record you have once they melt into eternity.”