iN PHOTOS: Penticton wood carver sparks joy with his art

Wood carving is an art form that involves time, skill and accuracy, and no one knows the patience, precision and attention to detail it takes better than Penticton’s Dave Mckamey.

Mckamey fell in love with the art form while working a wood carver seven years ago.

“I've always been artistic. I've always done art and all that kind of stuff over the years, and then carving just really hit home and it just kind of came natural after learning with the guy who trained me," he said.

With his business, The Carving Lot, Mckamey creates custom pieces, everything from owls, bears and birds, to aliens and UFOs.

He specializes in carving, log and timber wood refinishing and custom builds, but when he’s not at work, he spends even more of his time carving at home, although his own lawn doesn't have too many decorations on it.

Mckamey spends some of his free time at wood carving competitions where he creates his art in front of large crowds. He says the public loves to see the work come to life right before them.

“The carving opens so many different doors... it's funny, where the chainsaws and the carvings take you,” he says.

To get the perfect small details in his work, Mckamey used wood chisels, angle and die grinders and tiny extensions to his chainsaw. He's able to make even the hardest wood look soft and textured.

He'll also make house calls. One of his favourite things is creating art of a stump in a client's backyard.

“I always love when people leave the stumps on their property to carve. It's art, it's there,” he says.

Mckamey is excited to see where wood carving takes him next.

“Being able to just work on commission pieces or projects on property has been very rewarding,” he says.

“As a carver, you kind of got to work your way up and I know there's a lot of carvers out there that are excellent at what they do, and I think we've all kind of been through the stages of of trying to get where we're at and I really look forward to seeing where it goes.”

You can contact Mckamey through his Facebook page here.