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!