Painter Emblazons Hawks Logo On NW Side Building

A Chicago sign painter's love of his craft - and the Blackhawks - has produced a 20-foot-by-30-foot Blackhawk emblem on a Northwest Side building.

Maneuvering through the air on a hydraulic lift attached to a van, Ches Perry works on the painted face of a Blackhawk.

"To me, this is not work. It's a hobby... It's fun. I could do this seven days a week, day and night. I don't care."

And when he's not painting signs, 63-year-old Ches Perry is playing hockey.

"I play hockey twice a week. Sometimes I play three times a week."

The most difficult part of doing the 600 square foot sign: putting the pattern up on the wall.

And then - it's a matter of filling in the color.

"It's kind of like a paint-by-number, but not quite. It's a little harder than that."

Perry does love the Blackhawks, but he is still a Canadian citizen. And even though he's lived in Chicago since 1970, he is a Montreal Canadiens fan.

"If they're not playing the Hawks, I root for them."

The sign is in the 4200 block of North Milwaukee.