Welcome to the wonderfully imaginative world of Dave Pollot, a painter unlike most. You see, Dave takes canvasses from thrift stores and infuses them with a light dose of popular culture. Ever wonder what The Star Ship Enterprise would look like crashed into a field? How about R2D2 & C3P0 walking around America’s heartland, or, maybe you’ve thought of putting the characters and situations from Super Mario Brothers into a Bob Ross landscape? Dave has wondered these things, and turned his musings into a collection of art with a sense of humor.
We recently met Dave and his wife Becca at the Flower City Comic Con in Rochester, NY and had a chance to sit down and ask him a few questions about his art, his process, as well as his love (we love you too, Dave!) for Bags Unlimited.
BU: How long have you been creating these types of paintings/what gave you the inspiration?
Dave: I’ve been doing this for about 4.5 years now. When my wife, Becca and I met in 2010, she was an avid thrifter (still is), which meant that I was often pulled along on thrifting sprees. While she looked at whatever it was she was shopping for, I looked at all the donated artwork. We joked together about adding painting something funny into some of the more (or less) interesting pieces, and one day she came home with one for me to alter. I was instantly hooked, and now I’ve done close to 150.
Where do you get your thrift store paintings? Are they originals, or prints on canvass, or both?
At this point, Becca scours the local thrift stores while I’m at work (I write software during the day). I try to stick to framed prints on board or canvas, but every once in awhile, we’ll go to one of those hotel art sales where they sell mass produced paintings. I definitely try to avoid originals so that I’m not disrespecting the original artist.
Your subject matter is often on the ‘nerdier’ side of popular culture, are you a collector? If so, what do you collect?
The subject matter is all the stuff that I either grew up with or grew to love. My day job surrounds me with “nerdy” people who are often into the same types of things that I am, and so much of my work is also inspired by them. I don’t actually collect much or play many video games these days, simply because I’m spending all my free time painting. Although, it would seem (if you were to look in my basement) that I collect thrift art and beer.
We heard that you use our products (thanks so much)! What BU products do you use and what do you recommend for storing your prints?
We love BU and purchase quite a few things there. To name a few: sleeves and backers for our prints, sleeves for rolled canvas, shipping tubes, and shipping boxes. Being able to get so many things we need in one place makes our lives so much easier- and the people there are great, too.
What are you currently working on and which cons are you planning to attend in the future?
I’m currently working on a new series of paintings called Old Market Expansion, which places elements of larger corporations into scenes where they wouldn’t normally be (typically far in the past). You can see everything that I’m currently working on through my Instagram.
We have a bunch of summer shows lined up, but so far the FC3 con (Flower City Comic Con) was the only convention. Roc Con unfortunately fell on the same weekend as Clothesline, which we’ve done for the past four years. I will have a show this May at the Tap & Mallet, and another starting in July at Nox.
We’d like to thank Dave and Becca for bringing this awesome art into the world! To see even more of his wonderful art you can check out DavePollot.com or become a fan on his Facebook or Instagram pages! If you’d like to snag a print for yourself, a friend, or a loved one you can do so right here. In the meantime, click thru the gallery below to see even more of this goodness!
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