1945 –
Throughout his forestry career, Dave pursued his love of nature and the outdoors. Birding, training retrievers,hunting upland birds, fly fishing for trout and steelhead, and bow hunting for elk are among his favorite pursuits. He particularly loves waterfowl hunting, which led him to try his hand at carving his own decoys over 30 years ago. As he developed his carving skills he shifted from floating decoys and began to carve many of the birds that he was so familiar with from his time spent afield. In addition to waterfowl, his carvings of songbirds, birds of prey, and upland game birds are sought after by collectors. He has been represented by galleries in California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho and Alaska. He has participated in many competitions and juried art shows. Competitions include the California Open Wildfowl Carving Competition, The Pacific Flyway Wildfowl Carving Championships, the Ward Foundation World Championships, and the Columbia Flyway Waterfowl Festival. Juried shows include Wild Birds in Wood (Portland, Or.), Pacific Rim Wildlife Art Show (Seattle, Wa.),Portland Audubon Society Wildlife Art Show (Portland, Or.), Spokane Western and Wildlife Art Show (Spokane, Wa.)and Jay Contway and Friends Art Show (Great Falls, Mt.). Also, Dave has been a featured artist in major shows by the Eddie Bauer Gallery (Seattle, Washington) and GWS Galleries (Carmel, California). Since retirement he has built a new studio near his home in McCall, where he lives.