The story of DaveArt

David Gunnarsson, the artist behind DaveArt, has been painting as long as he can remember.

Back then it was just a dream and his only real choice for a career.

David grew up in the countryside, deep in the forests of Småland in southern Sweden. He grew up on the family farm, and David´s grandfather told him he would become a farmer and take over the family business.

But David´s greatest passion was art, he painted all the time and when he didn’t paint he would brainstorm new paintings with his fantasy and creativity. It is David´s creative ”one out of a million” mind which is the foundation of DaveArt´s success and its growth all over the world.

Working hard from day one

When David was 16 he started his own airbrush company in the family farm house. Working hard from day one, just like a farmer, David created DaveArt, operating after school, in the evenings and on weekends. He worked mostly with airbrush and that became his first choice of paint tool. When David graduated from school he had so many clients he was able to start working DaveArt full time as a professional artist.

David´s biggest passion from the start was always to paint goalie masks. And with his extreme creativity it fit the masks and the goalie’s designs like a glove. More and more goalies discovered his talents, creativity and unique storytelling, word started to spread, all over the world…

The masks became stories

With his creativity David came up with ways how to transform his visions into reality. His paintings started to become stories, every mask he painted became its own unique story and the masks were the canvas for David´s creations.

More and more goalies in the Swedish hockey league began to choose David, soon every top team in Sweden hired him. At the same time it started to spread also on the international hockey scenes…

Only goalies

The clientele grew and grew, not only goalies. Many of the clients who wanted David´s paintings were among the biggest companies in the world, but it is hockey goalies that is David´s passion. For example one of the worlds most succesful Formula 1 team contacted David and wanted his creative paintings, but David said no thanks just because he wanted to focus on hockey goalies.

The barn transformed into an art studio

In the same barn that David´s grandfather built in the 1930´, David is working today. On the outside it looks like an old classic barn, but when you enter you will not find any cows or horses. The barn is transformed into a top modern art studio and here´s where it all happens.

Today

Today, more than 20 years later, DaveArt is a worldwide established custom paint company. David only works with pro goalies all over the world and DaveArt is by far the biggest paint company in the NHL.

David´s creativity is blooming and is the foundation which DaveArt is built on, and makes DaveArt one of a kind.

David still lives at the same farm he grew up on, with his wife and three kids. Just as the paintings and creativity is his air, it is the same with living at the countryside.

David Gunnarsson with Henrik Lundqvist and Kevin Weekes