Chaz places the gold leaf on the pattern and brushes it with a delicate brush stroke. The project that Alexandre Delprat is working on in his Clazay workshop is not a medieval work of art but a Harley-Davidson.
“It’s a project that I’m leading with a mechanic friend. If we had to charge for the time we spent there, it would cost at least €50,000 including €5,000 or €6,000 for painting. » The modest garage in this place called Bressuire reveals nothing of the magic that operates there. Inside, the gleaming motorcycle tanks dry out with the smell of kerosene stoves. On the walls, the master’s paintings are populated with portraits of Iron Man, Black Panther and Venom.
Chaz has a strong taste for American custom and seeks hyper realism as an ideal.
© (Photo NR, Dominique Guinefoleau)
It is in this workshop that Chaz has flourished since he set up his company two years ago. But Alexandre Delprat started his professional life in exceptional pastry and chocolate making.
“I found my field of expression”
“I left school at 14-15 years old. My father-in-law knew a pastry chef who was hiring »says the Périgord, Basque at heart. One thing led to another, the young Alexandre Delprat would work for renowned houses, collaborate with a world chocolate champion and frequent the high level of pastry making. “But I had gotten around to it. Working hours, working weekends, lack of financial recognition…”
“I can’t see myself doing anything else”
When he was younger, Alexandre Delprat wrote drawing notebooks. All that was missing was an economic layoff for him to change path. “I started by completing a CAP as a bodywork painter. » The airbrush is still far away and the brushes are still in the cupboard. In 2013, he followed his daughter’s mother to the West. “Food” positions in the industry continued until 2018 when he became a bodywork painter in a car garage.
“I already had the idea of learning airbrushing. From middle school, I was passionate about motorcycles. I dreamed of painting helmets. I started by buying helmet shells to practice on. 4 years ago, I reached a limit. I am only a bodywork painter and I was asked for bodywork work for which I did not have the skills. »
All supports are good for Chaz to practice his art, up to the rifle of a sports shooting enthusiast.
© (Photo NR, Dominique Guinefoleau)
This is the opportunity Alexandre Delprat was missing to take on his identity as Chaz. “I don’t see myself doing anything else until the end of my professional life. I found my field of expression. You can paint large areas like drawing lines the thickness of a hair. »
Since his debut for relatives, Chaz has made a name for himself. His creations are beginning to populate specialized magazines, his network feeds his order book. “I met a Harley-Davidson mechanic (Greaser import) who imports American motorcycles and cars. He introduced me to the Harley custom community. »
Their eyes should shine when they open their garage every day.
Alexandre “Chaz” Delprat, airbrush painter Bressuire
Passionate, Chaz works for other enthusiasts ready to pay €500 to €8,000 for a painting. “People who come to me do so because they appreciate my work and my style. I love American custom. I focus on digging into what my clients want. Their eyes should shine when they open their garage every day. »
Personally, Chaz loves the skull theme. The piece he is most proud of is logically a mudguard decorated with a skull. But helmets, walls, canvases, decorative objects, sporting rifles… Everything is good to practice. He even brought back orders from the Bressuire Home Fair.
Gilded with gold leaf, the tank and mudguard of this demonstration motorcycle will have required a lot of work from Chaz and the friend with whom he built it.
© (Photo NR, Dominique Guinefoleau)
“I aim for hyper realism”explains the one who considers himself still far from the goal. “If I had to perfect one technique, it would be pinstriping (painting with a very fine brush). I train on it but I don’t offer it to my clients. I’m not yet at the level. »
Dominique Guinefoleau
Chazaero64: Bel-air de Clazay, 79300 Bressuire, Monday to Friday (9 a.m. to 12 p.m., 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.), 06.82.16.29.29, [email protected], https://chazaero64.com
