Long time dream.

I have been a Formula One fan for years and always wanted my own collection of helmets. This one is a replica of a 1992 Nigel Mansell helmet. Don't ask me for a price, I can't copy those commercially. For a replica contact Mike Fairholme at http://mikefairholmedesigns.com/.

Just finished, not sure it's dry yet!

I just had the time to photograph this new lid for Tommy Beshro before they picked-it up at my shop. He was really enthusiast when he opened the box and saw his new helmet. Good luck in 2009 Tommy!

Fresh paint!!!

Just finished those two lids for customers. One is a replica of Gilles Villeneuve's design, complete with the sponsors logos.

New helmets just finished.

I finished those 3 helmets in the last couple of weeks. One motorcycle helmet, which is quite unusual for me! This is Jesse Lazare's third helmet I painted through the years and this one is has a chrome base. The third is for a good customer; Scott Ford, it is Scott's third helmet I paint as well. Hope you enjoy.

My son's new ride.

For now, he can drive this Ferrari, later he can buy his own.

Helping Canadian GP comeback.

Gianmarco Raimondo though it was a good idea to promote the return of the Canadian GP on the 2009 schedule. He ran a large sticker on the sidepod of his Formula BMW during the Brazilian Grand-Prix last week. Let's hope those initiative will help Montreal regain the GP.

New helmet finished.

I just finished this new helmet for Michael Di Meo. Michael is a loyal returning customer, this new lid is a modification of his old design I painted a few years ago. Best of luck next season Michael!!

Tag's special helmet brings special money to Children's hospital.

Alex Tagliani is sporting a specially designed Conrad Jupiters themed helmet at this weekend’s Nikon Indy 300.

However, the helmet won’t be his to keep at the end of the weekend as Tagliani auctioned it off at last night’s Indy Gala Ball in order to raise money for the Gold Coast Hospital Foundation Children’s Ward.
The helmet went for $25 000. The design, which is based on Conrad Jupiters’ casino, stemmed from a couple of ideas and was created by the people at artrotondo.com, a motorsport artist based in Montreal . “I first wanted to come up with a new design for my helmet for the race at Surfers Paradise. At the same time, I wanted to do something for the people at Conrad Jupiter because they have always been so nice to me each time that I have stayed there for this race. “Once we came up with the concept, we finally decided that we would auction it off in order to raise money for a local charity,” explained Tagliani who has a long history of being involved with charities, such as the Tide@Wal-Mart Victory Lap charity program in his native Canada.

The helmet, painted by Patrice Harvey of Smart Race Paint, features casino themed imagery such as slot machines, casino chips and a roulette table on the sides.
The back of the helmet has Conrad Jupiter’s slogan, ‘What will you get up to?’ as well as four aces with the name Bronte on one and Tagliani on another. “I wanted Bronte’s name on the cards because I hit the jackpot when I met her!” admitted Tagliani, who met his wife Bronte at Surfers Paradise in 2001. The Nikon Indy 300 continues this afternoon with qualifying. The race goes green tomorrow and can be seen live on ESPN Classic Saturday, October 25 at 10:30 pm eastern time.
The race will also be rebroadcast on ESPN Sunday, October 26 at 11:00 pm eastern.

Cosmic Motors.

This has to be one of my favorite. The artist is Daniel Simon and his vision for future vehicles is simply stunning. Have a look at his website to understand what I mean.

http://www.cosmic-motors.com/

New website coming soon.

I will have a new website coming soon. New design, new features it will be completely different and have more information to all your questions Check it soon.

At least, here's some good news.

Read this article: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/71237 are they going to put some sense in Bernie? Or will the Bernie syndrome will have killed the Canadian GP? Still hoping to be back on Ile-Sainte-Helene next summer drinking beers with my buddy Wayne.

Polls are off again!!

71% of you voted that Ferrari should get rid of their electronic pit exit controller. What will they do next?

Special project.

I've been helping a friend recently, we built a sign for a local business and I did the painting of it. It has been quite an experience to do this project. First of all: that thing weigh in at around 60 pound (a bit heavier than a helmet!!) so it was hard to move around the shop. Second thing it was my first time painting particle wood. We had to use products I do not normally use on helmets. It was fun though and I will post photos of the finished thing soon.

Canadian GP dropped from schedule.

I can't believe it, he strikes again! Bernie Ecclestone is doing it again, menacing to remove the Canadian GP from the F1 schedule. They did it about 5 times in the past and have always come back. Truth is, the Canadian GP is a good thing for F1 and it's major players. It's a good venue for racing, the stands are always packed and they give, year after year the best TV ratings in Europe. Right now there are negotiations to bring back F1 in the United-States and Bernie, as always, is trying to bluff. Yes, it's expensive to move everyone in North America for only one race and yes, it would make sense to have two races on North American soil to save a few bucks but, I do not believe that. They go in Australia and Brazil year after year without ever mentioning the transport costs. I believe Bernie is trying to get as much money as possible by threatening the Canadian GP organisation and the Canadian Government. He knows that he need Montreal on his calendar and he knows the teams and sponsors want to come back. By announcing the removal of the Canadian race from the schedule he forces everyone (including possible US GP promoter) to beg him for a race. I say: "F$*@ you Bernie!" F@#& you Formula One!" See you next summer in Montreal sucker! And I say, it's about time someone in Montreal start building a proper oval track for NASCAR to come here. Anyone listening in Now-Dead-Montreal-City?

Fall is here! God dam'it!

Took a break from painting this week-end to close the swimming pool and get the summer stuff inside for the winter. There was frost on the ground this morning and I started the heater in the paint shop. Just clear coated a helmet and the clear takes longer to dry and harden. Yep! It's all downhill from here. I will let you know when the snow will cover the place.

Tagliani's helmet finished.

I am finally done with the painting of Alex's new helmet for Australia. You can see the final result here and clicking the last helmet on the bottom left. I think it looks pretty good. Let's hope the photographers like it as much as I do!

The polls are off.

You voted for Brunette and this is not surprising because as one of my friend says: "Blondes have more fun but, brunettes remember it in the morning!". Enough said.

Studio photo shoot.

I had the chance to have my mug photographed today by a friend of mine Claude Desrochers. Although Claude is not a professional photographer he's got everything to be one. We improvised a small studio in my paint shop and had fun taking photos. It was a new experience for me and I will use Claude's work on my next website.

Demistifying the great helmet painting myth.

I just been through some forums and I am amazed at all the craps is being vehiculed around concerning helmet painting. I am going to try to clarify a few things here.

-Manufacturer do not recommend painting helmets.

Here's the one you can read the most about out there. If your helmet is good quality, fiberglass, carbon, kevlar helmet, there is absolutely no problem at all at painting it. You just need to follow some rules and be careful about it and the helmet integrity and safety will not be affected. The steps we take as responsible helmet painters will ensure your helmet will remain safe for years to come. Beware of overnight painters and garage airbrushers who say they can do the job. It is a risky thing to play with your head like that.

-Fomula One drivers go through a new helmet every race.

I have no idea about other company but, a company I know well are giving away 8-10 helmets a year to F1 drivers to wear. They may get more painted for sponsors duties or gifts. In the past F1 drivers used to get more helmets but, with the arrival of the $5000 carbon fiber helmets, companies are less willing to give them away.

-F1 helmets are made to measure to the driver's head.

Absolutely false. The helmets needs to pass the homologation tests and one example of each sized helmet used in F1 pass the homologation. If a new driver arrives in F1 and his size of helmet is not yet homologated, the helmet manufacturer has to get it done before he can use it in F1. For a complete list of homologated helmet for formula one, including sizes available, follow the link: http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.nsf/87488537EEBCC8D4C125746A00540772/$FILE/L33_Approved_helmet.pdf. Other top series drivers in the world including IndyCar, DTM, Formula 3 drivers, use regular, off the shelf helmets. These may be modified a bit to suit their specific need and head shape.

If you read this and want to add more questionning or have a better answer to those questions, feel free to contact me. I don't know everything there is to know about helmets...

Indy Car in Australia and a new helmet design for Tagliani.

Indy Car is heading to Australia and so does Alex Tagliani. Alex's car will be supported by a local casino and he asked for a special helmet to be painted. He had Mauro Rotondo of http://www.artorondo.com/ to design a special helmet that I am going to paint in the next week. It is a first for me to paint someone else's design and I'm wondering how everything is going to turn out. Here's a sneak peek at the design. Photos of the helmet to come soon.

A night out with the boys.

The eyes are tired
The sleep was short
The kid was crying very early this morning
The paint smells worse than ever
The computer screen is moving in front of my weary eyes
This is going to be a long, long day.

Thanks Alex, Daniel and Martin for the great night. Next time, let's do this on a Friday instead.

A1 GP Team Lebanon-Daniel Morad

I am currently working on a new helmet for the new driver of Team Lebanon in A1 GP, Daniel Morad. While Morad is a Canada native, his family root is in Lebanon and his double nationality will allow him to race for the Lebanese team in 2008. The design of the helmet will share both Daniel's traditional colors and Team Lebanon's unique color combination.

New paintjob just finished.

Here it is guys, the almost finished work. I can't really say exactly, but I guess it took a good 30-35 hours to complete.

An invitation.

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I guess I feel blessed...after all.

If you have a creative jobs and your work keeps you on the same patterns day after day you tend to loose the will to go outside the boundaries. I might have the chance to create new stuff everyday, but since most of my clients wants the same thing year after year I really have to dig deep when I am being asked for something completely crazy. That's what I spent my day on today, something that pushed me.
This guy called and asked for a crazy monster-with-huge-teeth-and-blood-and-flames and anything that will make him look like the guy your mother warned you about, painted on his lid. At first I was...scared. What am I going to do with that? I asked myself that questions for weeks and pushed that job aside because I had no idea how I was going to come up with something that extreme. Look, I do mostly European style, graphics with fluorescent colors type of painting. What this guy was asking was totally out of my daily routine. And to be honest I though it was a bit too much for a karting helmet. But, being the professional I am I decided to tackle that job with some punch and finesse. First, find a subject; monster...no thank you. I have been around the painting scene too long to know that this is totally 70's-80's and there was no way I was going to put my name on something like that. I needed a scary subject with subtle flare, something that give you shiver but still makes you wonder about...hum mm!
EVIL CLOWN!! That's it! An evil clown with long teeth and blood around the mouth, flames coming out of his head and blood splatters all around the helmet. If that's not scary enough for him, I don't what will do the trick. I will have an update with photos tomorrow. See ya!

Here we go...it's a start.

Big shoes to fill, I guess this is how I feel about starting my blogging experience. Because I am in no mean a writer and topping it with the fact that my main language is French I feel that this adventure is going to be quite an experience. After reading a few blog through the years and discovering some highly talented writers in those blogs I feel like trying to fit my tiny beginner's feet in some huge shoes. Yep! This is going to be quite an adventure, care to join me?
I will be looking to get feed backs from you. This is going to be a new experience for me and I hope you will be part of it. See ya!