Art is a vital component of a comfortable interior. When I came across the work of artist Dave Danchuk, I just had to share it with you. 
Notice this wine theme? Dave submitted this for our Wine Station photo contest in September 2014 and I’ve kept it on my desktop ever since.
Looks like a painting doesn’t it? Nope, this guy is a genius with a scroll saw! Dave takes contemporary woodworking to whole new level. 
Can you tell he’s Canadian? Let’s get to know a little more about Dave.
How did you develop your distinctive style?
“My mother is a poet (writes a poem every morning, has done so for years) and was doing an outdoor arts fair one day. On my way to finding her booth, I walked past these really cool large crisp paintings. As I got closer (and heard the artist describing his work to another amazed and curious man), I realized that it was “scrollsawed”. I spent a bit of time asking questions, and knew I had to give it a shot. A few weeks later, my wife found a used DeWalt scrollsaw online locally (the one that research had told me I wanted). We couldn’t really afford it at the time, but it’s more than paid for itself. Having been a musician for years, but no longer being in a band at that time, I had found my new creative release… ” 
What inspires you to create a new piece?
“Sometimes it just things that my kids say, or cool images that I’d like to reinterpret. I’m always up for a good challenge. Scroll saws are usually used to do smaller woodworking projects, my particular saw is 20″ from the blade to the back of the saw, so creating large 48″ x 24” projects is like playing a combo of limbo, Twister and chess. 
Your colorations are very interesting, do you start with a color plan or does it evolve as you are working?
“My first few projects only had about 7 colors in them. One of the rules I have is that no pieces that touch each other can be the same color. Definitely another challenge in the process. I started adding new colors to my palette as I got more detailed, and it became harder to follow my own rule.
I think about colouring of some of the defining pieces as I’m cutting it all up, but the majority of it is instinctive. I place all the pieces on a backing board as I cut them out. I then pick out all the pieces I want a particular color, paint them with two coats of acrylic paint, then reinsert them after they’ve dried. Time consuming process, but I enjoy every step.” 
If you had an art dream; size, placement , or subject matter for a piece of your work what would it be?
“Being from British Columbia, I’ve always wanted to make a totem pole. Don’t think I’ll be able to scroll one, but… perhaps I will find a way.”
Where can someone see more of or purchase your work?
“Best way is to go to the source, come find me online, although I do have some work at L’Atelier, a local gallery in the Yaletown district of Vancouver. For custom, big ones usually take at least a month, plus I spend a lot of time at a certain lighting place during my days. Plus, it is hockey season. I’d like to say about two months I can do a large piece.”
I know him as a lighting guy who I tweet with @DasalLighting, so you can find him on Twitter too. Thanks Dave!
Interior designers often suggest clients to start with artwork when it comes to picking a color palette for a room. Dave’s work is exactly what we have in mind as they offer a perfect starting point to select a few key colors from, plus his artwork makes a dynamite conversation piece.
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