Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Germain.
Hi Daniel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
The best place to start is a much younger me in college, trying to become a doctor. I had always wanted to work with kids, so a pediatrician is in my future. I decided to take Latin to help with all of the word origins found in medicine and the sciences, plus I was really into mythology and ancient history, so it was a fascinating class. Three years later, I was working on a Master of Arts in Teaching while running my first Latin classroom, and the thought of medical school was far in the past, except helping my students pursue their dreams of medicine. I’ve been teaching now for around 13 years, and while it can be extremely challenging at times, I love the impact that I’ve had on so many students. Being the only Latin teacher, I get the benefit of watching students grow for four years, and I get to know them in a way that a lot of other teachers won’t. I don’t take that for granted. One aspect of my teaching career is running the Latin Club. We go to competitions a few times a year against the other Latin programs from across the state. When I first started, we would fundraise for our competitions by face painting at events and selling various things to the community or across the school.
One day, I was at a Comic Convention, and there was an artist who was making and selling spray paint pieces on the show floor. I loved his designs, got one made for myself, and recorded the process. I was enamored with it for weeks before pitching it to my incredibly artistic students, saying that we should try it for our fundraising. There was a lot of YouTube learning, a lot of trial and error, and a lot of fun trying to figure out where to start, but we made it happen. We hand-designed a few dozen stencils, took them to a community festival, and painted them away. We made enough to fund our trip and keep a nice little recurring balance in our club account. As the students started to lose interest in spray painting, I continued to practice and incorporate new techniques into my paintings. While I love the traditional silhouette work that spray paintings are known for, I take pride in making highly detailed pieces that people can’t believe are spray painted. From nature to anime and pop culture, I love painting it all, and now you can catch me spending my free time teaching at local shows and comic cons with my works.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There’s been some bumps in the road. Teaching during the pandemic was incredibly challenging: losing the personal touch in teaching takes a lot of the joy out of the profession, but I’m glad that I stuck with it. Things are moving in the right direction. It also gave me the motivation to start painting more often and the courage to put myself out there more. One of the other things I struggled with was a sense of being an imposter in the art world. I have never taken any art courses or lessons, so I had a hard time feeling like I was good enough to be selling my work, even when people complimented and encouraged me. I remember a great moment, though, when I had just finished a Star Wars piece for an upcoming convention, and I couldn’t stop staring at it because it looked like a still from the movie. I realized that all these doubts didn’t matter because I was making these things that made me happy, and I’m so glad that other people find joy in them, too. I kept that piece as a reminder of the feeling and that I was good enough.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Teacher by day, Spray Painter by night (usually the best time to work in the garage in Florida anyway); my favorite things to paint are iconic scenes from TV, anime, cartoons, or movies. I can do silhouette work like most other spray painters, but I enjoy the challenge of stenciling out a bunch of layers to line up into a beautiful, detailed work.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Feel free to reach out if you would love your custom spray paint piece.
Pricing:
- Basic silhouette work starts at $35
- Detailed pieces are priced by size and number of layers, typically starting around $100
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dot.cards/featsofdanger
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/featsofdanger/
Image Credits
Cosplay photo courtesy of Andrew Warner @ThemedShots
