This story starts with an old suitcase.
And a sign painter who had, in his own words, “the audacity to try.”
Koy Suntichotinun, who goes by Koy Sun, wanted to do something different and make a change, so he applied for the Impact Artist Residency at Bread & Salt, which houses multiple galleries and artist studios in Logan Heights.
He knew his application for the artist residency had to be really memorable. Instead of just sending in a flash drive of his portfolio, he elaborately painted a vintage suitcase — in the style of retro sign painters.
“To kind of make up for my sort of lack of fine art transcript, I knew I kind of wanted to do something big to get the attention,” Sun said.
Sun flipped through his portfolio inside the suitcase, fastened in place with a makeshift leather strap made from an old belt. Photo collages showcased brightly colored lettering adorning storefronts, signs and even a hot dog cart.
“That was the extent of my painting during the time, and I was like, ‘I don’t know if they’re gonna let me in just from that alone.’ So that’s why I made the video and that’s why I made the suitcase. Like, ‘Hey, I don’t have a lot going on right now, but I can promise you that I’ll be making a lot of stuff soon,'” Sun said.
Sun’s video has since been seen by millions of people. And yes, it landed him the residency.
He started out studying fine art, and eventually left art school, realizing the fine art realm wasn’t for him. But he’d always loved digital graphic design and lettering, and dedicated himself to studying the form. Lettering became a natural jumping-off point for sign painting.
About a decade ago, he watched a documentary, “Sign Painters,” directed by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon.
“That was my first initial introduction to the world of lettering, but I was very insecure about my place because there’s a lot of rules and just little details in lettering that I found intimidating,” Sun said. “So, I basically procrastinated on sign painting for about eight years.”
Then, his parents opened a new Thai restaurant in Sorrento Valley and needed a sign to attract and direct customers. Sun volunteered — he also made a video.
“I didn’t really think much of it, and it blew up. I guess my career into video and sign painting kind of started from that,” Sun said.
His burgeoning career as a content creator on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram helps give him more financial freedom to take on the sort of sign painting projects he’s most attracted to: smaller businesses, friends and communities he wants to serve.
After several years of painting signs and making content online, Sun grew out of his garage workspace. Landing the Bread & Salt residency meant three months in a large studio, nestled in the middle of a bustling gallery and coffee shop space.
“Sign painting as a trade was actually one of the first reasons that I got so interested in it, is that I liked how it used to be kind of a normal job … What I love about sign painting is the mix of trade in how I can functionally help people while still being artsy.”
Koy Sun, artist
Now his art appears in prestigious art spaces as well as storefronts — the quintessential canvas for sign painting. But he prefers the latter.
“Sign painting as a trade was actually one of the first reasons that I got so interested in it, is that I liked how it used to be kind of a normal job. As a trade it wasn’t that different from a plumber or a mechanic or something like that. And what I love about sign painting is the mix of trade in how I can functionally help people while still being artsy and doing design and having fun and being silly,” Sun said.
Arzu Ozkal, a professor of graphic design at San Diego State University, said sign painting’s place in art history goes way back to scratching things on cave walls — “the urge to communicate,” as she put it.
“Eventually we developed the alphabetical systems and the substrates to write on and then it became an artistic expression,” Ozkal said.
The attraction to art like Sun’s taps into nostalgia for hand-lettered signs and shopkeepers who knew our names.
“You go to Costco, everything looks the same. Everything has primary colors and shouting at your face with sans-serif font.”
Arzu Ozkal, professor of graphic design at SDSU
“There’s a connection with how dissatisfied we are with the society that we built for ourselves and how everything now looks. You go to Costco. Everything looks the same. Everything has primary colors and shouting on your face with sans-serif font,” Ozkal said.
Sun’s art is meticulous and showcases a mastery of lettering. Each choice he makes about color, contrast and style feeds his singular goal: to get people to notice and understand.
Sun’s dedication to serving his community has only grown as his videos turned into real income.
You can find his signs peppered around town, like at White Rice Bodega in Normal Heights, and at SANPA barber shop in City Heights.
Sun actually worked with SANPA Barbershop’s owner long before he opened the barbershop. “The owner, I worked with him when he was still in high school,” Sun recalled. “He said, ‘I’m just a high schooler and I cut hair.’ I made him a logo for like 100 bucks. And then years later, he was like ‘I own a barbershop now, can you paint it’?”
At Bread & Salt, Sun had ambitious plans for the three-month residency, hoping to paint massive signs and complete big projects. And more than a little pressure.
“I gotta make sure my lore is interesting for TikTok,” he said.
But instead, he’s spent a lot of his time meeting people, collecting their stories and collaborating on small pieces. And he’s OK with that.
“I’ve kind of settled on the idea of taking my time with whatever I’m painting — whether or not it’s impressive, and focus more on just individually interacting with people,” Sun said. “Because that’s the magic of being here, I think.”
