Artists make each goalie mask unique
An NHL goaltender’s mask is not only the one thing standing between a man’s head and a 160-km/ h slapshot — it is also Sylvie Marsolais’ canvas.
The Montreal-area airbrush artist is one of a small group who paint masks for the league’s top goalies — each a unique work of art made to showcase both the team and the netminder’s personality.
A recent mask Marsolais painted for the Florida Panthers’ Reto Berra features palm trees superimposed over a background of team colours in red, gold and black. A surfer catches a wave on one side, while a realistic panther snarls on the other. Team logos decorate much of the top, while the back plate features the initials of Berra’s family members.
Marsolais, 38, says each goaltender gets a personalized design and no two are ever the same.
“There’s no production and there’s no reproduction, it’s just creativity from A to Z,” the artist said in her workshop in Sainte Marthe-sur-le-Lac as she layered red paint on a mask with smooth strokes, then stopped to check the drawing in front of her. Marsolais, says some goaltenders approach her knowing exactly what they want, while others let her take the lead in the design.
Team logos and brick walls are popular motifs, but goaltenders also request everything from family portraits to religious symbols to video game characters. Her masks take between 15 and 40 hours to paint and cost anything from $600 to more than double that.
Marsolais’ newest specialty is “ghost paint” that changes colour when heat or cold is applied.
But for Alberta-based painter Jason Bartziokas, a good mask is less about gimmicks and more about simple, bold design.
“It’s scale,” said the Jasper-based airbrush artist, who counts Andrew Hammond and Chad Johnson among his NHL clients.
He says the secret is to find a balance between what looks good from afar for spectators and personal touches intended for the goalie alone.