Well, that’s what Lee thought! After a phone call to Mike Learn, which accompanied with a two-hour commute started to take
now at Deano’s Custom Paint, Lee was thrown into a workload its toll. Although the artist loved his job and the clientele; includ-
like he had never seen. “They had an account that supplied high ed were pro ball players, Phil Neven and Ryan Klesco, also the
end paint jobs for these super exotic bikes from Bourget Bike Ultimate Fighting Championship sponsor. Lee was even able to
Works. They also did these unreal paint jobs on cars and boats meet some of the fighters and went to a fight in Los Angeles,
and anything else that anybody would want to get painted. It was California. One of the greatest things Lee says he was able to
like an amusement park for an airbrush artist, not because it do during that time was to do work for and meet Alice Cooper.
was so fun but because it was like being on a roller coaster with “One of my teenage heroes because he was so scary and his
the variety of artwork you got to do and the work load each day shows were so creepy....I loved it!
could bring.” “Again, I was able to do the type of artwork that I always got
”Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mind the work load and the experi- in trouble for! The artwork consisted of billion dollar bills with
ence I got in such a short amount of time, along with the cool Alice’s face on the bill and also a guitar to match. What a job!!
people I got to meet and work with along the way was priceless! It took forever to do because of the detail on the bills. Let’s put
All I ever wanted to do is artwork, I knew it would take awhile to it this way...thank God for computers, drawing programs and
learn how to use the airbrush but didn’t think it would be all at vinyl cutters! I’d probably still be working on it to this day! Well
once. Many times I had to freehand much of the work because not really but that’s how labor intensive it was along with doing
I didn’t have the proper amount of time to use any of the other whatever else that had to be airbrushed that day, that week
techniques I had been taught.” ,that month!!!
It had become a job. Lee found his workload getting heavier,
”The work got done but I was so burnt that it was time to take few awesome works under my belt and yes, it’s either feast or
a break....a long break. We had saved some money and I was famine most of the time but I get to do artwork the way I want,
getting sick all the time so my wife and I decided that I should how I want and take the time to do it properly, produce quality
take several weeks off and leave Deano’s. We would just throw work. More or less I went through college (of hard knocks) for
caution to the wind. the past eleven years, graduated and now have been kicked out
“My wife, Raedel, is from the same town that I’m from in Ohio of the nest to fly on my own.“
and went to the same high school, we had the same friends. ”In a nutshell...my wife refuses to leave me no matter how bad
Needless to say she knew me very well, she should....we’ve been it gets, we still have a roof over our heads and transportation
together for twenty one years! After the break, Lee and Raedel to get back and forth. I still have loyal and very dear custom-
decided to go it alone, they started easy with a few jobs paint- ers that spread the good word and I have gained about thirty
ing portraits, bikes and cars. It wasn’t long before he was again pounds.....inspiring? Maybe to some, hopefully to at least one!
painting the Alice Cooper Car ‘Welcome to My Nightmare,’ and Exhausting? Emotional? Most definitely! Fulfilling? Absolutely!
again, some guitars with the same theme. “Yes, it was a lot of Regrets? None! Climb the mountains and follow your dreams! I
work. It was really fun and I thank everybody from the Alice Coo- must be doing something right...I’m happy!
per camp for the opportunity” Take a closer look at Lee and Diaz Dezine by going to
Thus we come full circle in this story of the birth of Diaz Dezine. www.leediaz.com
Lee will tell you “the business is slowly growing and I’ve got a
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