Wildlife Art by Dave Alexander

Dave Alexander

Dave grew up in Texas, where he developed a love for the outdoors. After receiving a degree in Forest Management from Stephen F. Austin State University, he moved to northern California to start a career as a forester with the U.S. Forest Service. During his 35 year career he worked on six National Forests in California, Oregon and Idaho. He retired in 2002 in McCall, Idaho, where he served as Forest Supervisor of the Payette National Forest for the last nine years of his career.

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.

Since retirement he has built a studio in McCall, where he continues to produce carvings and limited edition bronzes. He participates in carving competitions and juried art shows, and is currently represented by Out of Africa-In Montana Gallery, in Bozeman, Mt (FWDART.COM). In addition to carving, he pursues his hobbies of wildlife photography, shooting sporting clays, ,hunting, fishing, and training his Labrador retrievers for hunting and field trials.

A Few of Dave's Carvings

Everything is hand-carved by Dave: the birds, the bowls, the rocks, the branches and even the eggs. The detail is amazing! Dave is truly a Master Artist. – Brenda Jansson