Dave began his career as a means to fund his college education. His initial focus was wildlife. After attending Humboldt State University in Northern California, he began his career in earnest. Success came early with requests from California Ducks Unlimited and The California Waterfowl Association to be their artist of the year. Dave was also among the youngest artists to be asked to exhibit his work at the internationally recognized “Birds in Art” exhibit at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. For the first decade of his career, Dave held his focus on wildlife paintings, however, by the mid 1990’s, he turned to landscape painting. Most of his early work in landscape was done outdoors but, over time, he shifted to more refined studio work with his outdoor work done primarily in pencil. This eventually led to his original concept of “Notebook” paintings. He was first inspired to pursue this location focused artistic expression by an exhibit at the Denver Museum of Art displaying the famous notes and sketches by the cowboy artist Charles M. Russell. With Dave’s active life in backpacking and extensive outdoor exploration, carrying small. light weight notebook sized prepared surfaces was the only practical way to express himself in art while on long back country trips.
More recently, in 2015, Dave and his wife, Christiane, began working together. Chris took up refined craftsman style wood working and all of Dave’s painting are now framed exclusively in these beautiful, finely crafted hardwood frames. Chris uses only American hardwoods sourced and milled in America. Both Dave and Chris are committed to the highest quality work using American made materials – even Dave’s paints are American made.
Dave has enjoyed a quiet, yet long and successful career by pursuing his individual artistic goals. Most of his work is sold in galleries catering to clients who appreciate Dave’s approach to art and his powerful desire to express his interests with authenticity and honesty. He is an expert fly caster and fly tyer and remains very active in backpacking and outdoor travel. He lives with his wife and two dogs on the shores of a beautiful Sierra mountain lake in far Northern California.