Introduction
In January 2024 I wrote an article about Daneen outlining how she created a custom tribute helmet to honor my uncle, Harvey Kitaoka the very first Japanese American Naval Jet Aviator.
That lid is very personal to me and I was thrilled at the effort and artistic abilities she demonstrated. What struck me is how observant she was in researching the elements of a USN pilot along with all of the details in their equipment.
My close riding friends all said, “Hey Mark, that helmet she painted is such a work of art, I would not wear it. But since you are so stubborn and will wear it anyway, just stop and take it off before you crash.” Ah, nothing like good friends looking out for me huh?
I have a modular helmet that I just love to wear on some days. An AGV TourModular fits me well and I installed their Insyde comm system since I use Cardo products. So I figured I’d have her paint the helmet in a way “That would reflect how she sees me.” Since I make my living as a creative, I normally create imagery for others. It felt just a little strange handing that power over to someone else.
Through experience, I know that when a client allows me to be the creative director, given just a few parameters, the work comes out much better. So I left my AGV with her and knew she would come up with something I’d love.
How She Did It
Daneen is on Instagram as @airbrushdemons and when she posted this picture feed, I got nervous!!!! So I wrote to her and said if she planned to paint something like that on my lid I insist that she use her face. I figured that would dissuade her. She wrote back “Ha, that’s what you think!” Gulp. It’s not that I don’t like naked women in nasty poses. As it stands, I get dirty looks from women when I wear my Nicky Haden 69 baseball cap! Some women do give me a shy smile though….
Guys just smile, even if they don’t know who Nicky is. So I imagined angry women trying to run me down with their SUVs, taking a hand off the wheel to shield their kid’s eyes when I’m on the road if she painted what she created on that guitar!
She let me know how she determined some of the ways to reflect on who I am. Since I’m on Instagram, she looked over some of my photo posts.
“These were some of your photos that inspired/influenced me when I was working on it. I tried to keep a Japanese influence in the artwork since I can tell your heritage means a lot to you”
This tree I photographed in infrared.
A few years ago I was traveling in Oregon and went out “fishing” My term for photography is when I can use a tripod since my day job always involves fast movement. Here I captured the Milky Way behind a tree.
I buy little lapel pins and this is one I bought for myself. My family are descendants of Samurai.
And here is a shot I took when I was camping down in Pismo Beach.
What She Created
Here are the images of my helmet which I’ve named “MarkO”
My last name is written in Kanji and you can see the influence of the samurai’s helmet shield.
The back of the lid where she painted waves in the style of Japanese Woodblock paintings.
The moon and stars reflect her perception of my Yin and Yang personality. She has called me an Enigma…hum….
The top of the helmet is the Yang which holds the Earth. She created the classic curve of Yin and Yang, but I could not capture it properly on film. The trees and birds reflect my love of camping and nature, specifically birds. I’m far from a birder since I call all birds Chickadee birds. Hahahaha.
The left side of the helmet is influenced by my Oregon night shot of the Milky Way through the tree branches. And OMG when I saw she had painted an I Love Costco button on the chin side I thought I was gonna lose it! Who does shit like that? Well, Daneen. And yup I love Costco and I guess I must have talked about going there a lot…OBVIOUSLY. It may be one of my favorite parts of the lid. My niece loved it because she works for them!
On the right side is her version of my infrared shot of the tree. Here you can see one of the samurai helmet horns and the Milky Way stars with the Moon. How effing cool.
Her Attention to Detail
Since this helmet is a personal reflection of how she sees me it won’t have any meaning for you. I get that. I wanted to illustrate her incredible attention to detail. She let me know that as a kid, she was encouraged to ‘color inside the lines’ and feels pretty anal about attention to detail. This will demonstrate what to expect if you have a custom lid created. I’ve asked her how she does this NOT to try to replicate it because I don’t want to and could not even if I did. Nope, it’s to show you how incredible her work is. So if you decide to have a custom lid done by Daneen, you know…
The moon and stars feel as if I’m looking through my telescope. There is a simultaneous feeling of the real and the ethereal when I view that section.
The birds in flight and the trees take me back to camping scenes in my memories. Again these are all Chickadee birds because I’m a birding expert!
Under the Earth, you can see the other portion of the Samurai helmet wing.
The detail and texture she put into the helmet wings are incredible. The small flowers and the almost foil-looking portions. The closer I look, the more amazed I become.
My last name in Kanji. She used black light paint to place a ‘secret’ that can only be viewed under black light. When she reached into her pouch to bring out her black light flashlight, I thought she was weird. Who carries a black light flashlight except some cop checking bedsheets to see ‘what evidence’ can be found!!!??? She told me it was her father’s….uh huh Daneen, whatever!
The ‘secret’ is she used glow-in-the-dark paint on my Kanji name.
Here she has painted a texture to illustrate leather, to symbolize that I have a leather exterior. I guess I should use some skin care products. She said it shields my ‘teddy bear’ interior. No one has ever said that…..hum.
And all artists sign their work.
Conclusion
Whether or not you ever choose to have a custom-painted helmet is up to you. In my original piece, I stated my reasons for having one created. This is my second from Daneen and it’s because I not only trust her abilities, but even more importantly her artistic creativity and integrity. Artsy Fartsy types can be flakey, I should know since I’m one. Shelling out a not-insignificant chunk of cash for a pure luxury thing isn’t something I do every day. Taking the time to get to know me, what I like, and how to portray that ain’t easy, no matter who the person is.
According to her, most of her clients have an idea of what they want or have a general idea or theme when they have her start a project. She figures out the layout and details. And my goodness, allowing her free reign was the right thing for me to do. I now call her an Organic Free Range Artist. (I made up that she’s organic and free range, but NOT the artist part. That’s her in spades)
