CELSIUS/Charles Leclerc F1 Helmet
This hand-painted helmet was commissioned by the sports energy drink company CELSIUS as a gift to Charles Leclerc congratulating him on his 2024 Formula 1 season driving for Scuderia-Ferrari.
The helmet depicts moments from his victories in Monza and Monaco, as well as him with his pup Louie!
As a long-time member of the Tefosi myself, I was so honored to be asked to paint this for Charles and can't thank Taylor and the folks at CELSIUS enough for this opportunity.
Essere Ferrari!
Leclerc/Celsius Helmet Process Photos
Original helmet sent by Celsius to have painted. (It's beautiful...)
Helmet after sanding off the gloss layer to be repainted.
After sanding down the helmet and covering completely with primer, I wanted to incorporate some of the original helmet details into my design. This ment I had to repaint the elements back onto the helmet. Everything you see on this helmet from here on was painted on by me. I learned A LOT.
After drawing in (and redrawing) the base layer has begun.
Part of the learning process was having to problem solve on the fly. Here I had to use "boat putty" to fill in and seal holes used for air circulation. Why I didn't do this BEFORE I started painting is... well we're not gonna talk about that.
This is after the holes have been filled and the final painting process has started. For most projects I will paint the base color block-in layer in acrylic paint then move into oil paint to finish. This is my process for most projects depending on time constraints.
OH NO!
After finishing and approvals were given, I lovingly packed the helmet and shipped it off to it's new home. However, once it arrived at Celsius HQ I was horrified to learn that sometimes major temperature shifts + air + plastic can result in less than ideal results. To the Celsius team's credit they were kind enough to ship it back to me so I could attempt to fix it. Repainting it wasn't the main problem though, how was I going to repair the helmet? After 24hrs of alternating stress crying and laughing I remembered I was now an expert boat-putty user! (See process images above.)
I am very happy to report that the boat-putty worked like a charm. I was able to fix and repaint the helmet with minimal weeping. I then shipped it back safely to Celsius HQ where it then went on to it's final home sitting on a rotating platform on a coffee-table in the center of Charles Leclerc's living room (I assume).
ATL Falcons "RISE UP" Helmet
This hand painted helmet was commissioned by the Minnesota Vikings on behalf of their ownership group. It was given to Mr. Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons as a gift when the Falcons played the Vikings at US Bank Stadium during the 2024/25 NFL season.
I was asked to paint iconic ATL imagery and landmarks over half of the Falcons helmet, as well as include their team slogan "RISE UP". I knew immediately that I wanted to paint the top of Mercedes-Benz Stadium with its unique retractable roof open.
This was a very fun project to work on (Thanks J.P.!)
(Dec. 8th, 2024 @ US Bank Stadium: Falcons: 21 - Vikings:42)
ATL Falcons Helmet in - Profile - *SOLD
3/4 Front View
3/4 Back View
Back View
3/4 Top View
Top Front View
Top View
Detail
Detail
Detail
Below are the painted helmets for the 2023/24 NFL season that were auctioned off by and for the benefit of the Vikings Foundation and their Vikings Table food-truck.
For information on the Vikings Foundation visit the link HERE.
"Justin Jefferson" Helmet - *SOLD*
(Detail)
Work in progress...
Jefferson coming along.
Signed "Justin Jefferson" Helmet - *SOLD*
"Kirk Cousins" Helmet - *SOLD*
(Detail)
Painting in progress...
Kirko coming along...
"Harrison Smith" Helmet - *SOLD*
(Detail)
Signed "Harrison Smith" Helmet - *SOLD*
Throughout the 2022 Vikings Training Camp the below helmets were on display at the Minnesota Vikings Museum at TCO Performance Center. After training camp they were moved to U.S. Bank Stadium where they were put on display during all Vikings home games for the entire 2022/23 NFL season.
The Vikings Foundation included one of my pieces in each of their game-day auctions held throughout the season. The dates for each auction is listed on the image. All proceeds from these auctions went directly to the Vikings Foundation and their mission in advancing the well being of youth through engaging health and education initiatives.
For more information on The Vikings Foundation click HERE.
(Below photos courtesy of The Vikings Foundation.)
Kirk Cousins signed helmet - Auction: Sep. 11th, 2022 *SOLD*
Justin Jefferson signed helmet - Auction: Dec. 4th, 2022 *SOLD*
Dalvin Cook signed helmet - Auction: Oct. 30th, 2022 *SOLD*
Adam Thielen signed helmet - Auction: Nov. 20th, 2022 *SOLD*
#4 Dalvin Cook (with the helmet!)
#19 Adam Thielen (signing the helmet!)
"Cousins" - Auction: Sep. 11th (Packers @ Vikings) *SOLD*
"Jefferson" - Auction: Dec. 04th (Jets @ Vikings) *SOLD*
"Cook" - Auction: Oct. 30th (Cardinals @ Vikings) *SOLD*
"Thielen" - Auction: Nov. 20th (Cowboys @ Vikings) *SOLD*
The helmets, footballs, and jersey on display at Vikings training camp in front of the Vikings Museum.
(Cleats were not painted by me.)
Once we realized the Vikings were not only making the 2022/23 NFL Playoffs, but hosting a game, it was decided to add a painted helmet to the Vikings Foundation's home-game auction. The only option was to paint the recent Vikings Ring of Honor inductee Jared Allen.
Jared Allen Signed helmet. *SOLD*
The Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook helmets below were painted for the Minnesota Vikings Foundation game-day auctions during the 2021/22 season.
"Norse Big Head" Justin Jefferson *SOLD*
"Norse Big Head" Dalvin Cook *SOLD*
Signed "Norse Big Head" Dalvin Cook helmet *SOLD*
The Randy Moss helmet below was painted and signed by the "Super-freak" himself for the 2020/21 Minnesota Vikings Foundation game-day auction.
This was the first helmet I had ever painted on. The fact that it was seen, and signed by my all time favorite player in NFL history blows my mind to this day.
The characters painted across the front of the helmet are viking runes meaning "SKOL". These are the same runes that can be found on the viking ship located out front of U.S. Bank Stadium and the rune stones the players run past on the field during the team introduction.
Moss (Super freak) & SKOL
Signed Moss helmet. (Image courtesy of Burke Watson)
