Spallino Chainsaw Art features unique art-form in the Rogue Valley

MEDFORD, Ore. – A man, a chainsaw, and a vision.

Gary Spallino started his own company doing what he loves: turning regular old trees into unique pieces of art.

“Being able to get something out of a chunk of wood or a tree stump. People, they just see the stump and then you got to try to find something in there and stuff pops out,” Gary Spallino, founder of Spallino Chainsaw Art, said. “I love doing it, I ran a saw all my life, I was a timber faller, and it was just a natural fit, and I like the art, and somebody paid me for it, so that was like ‘oh man I can do this.'”

Spallino starts by stripping the tree, making sure to leave enough of it intact to work with.

He then goes into the detailed carving and finishes his artwork with oil to add color and other elements.

His art is unique, combining his passion with immense attention to detail.

From an owl to a bear, to even batman, there’s no job or request Spallino won’t take, even trying to bring a mythical creature to life.

“My favorite thing is the first-time stuff, the odd-ball dragons, different poses, not just the standard go-to,” Spallino said.

Spallino’s emphasis is growing after each project, and he’s done a lot of that in the six years he’s been doing this full-time.

“[I have grown] A long ways. They went from stuff that I would probably be embarrassed of now, to where they are now, so it just keeps progressing, the more I do it the better it gets I think,” Spallino said.

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Ethan McReynolds is a reporter and weekend anchor for NBC5 News. He grew up in Bothell, Washington and graduated from Gonzaga University with a degree in Broadcasting and minors in Journalism and Sport Management. At Gonzaga, he started his own sports podcast. Ethan loves rooting for his hometown Seattle sports teams, especially the Mariners. He loves playing baseball, basketball, and soccer. He is also an avid Taylor Swift fan.
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