What began as Luke Schuler’s desire to create wanderlust- inspired art for his home quickly blossomed into a thriving small business, Stains and Woodgrains. His home decor doesn’t just fill a space; it practically hands you your hiking boots, beckoning you to explore beyond it. “I really want my work to inspire others to go on adventures,” Schuler says. “I want viewers to feel the same awe and desire to be there in real life.” Using a mixture of poured resin, metalwork, found objects, and hand-cut wood pieces, Schuler creates captivating three-dimensional pieces. His art tells stories of the landscapes that inspire him, nudging you to trade your couch for a trail and experience those same breathtaking moments. Whether it’s a world map stained on wood or a custom piece inspired by a favorite photograph, each work is a call to action: to get out the door and explore the world around you. We catch up with Schuler at his home studio to learn more before he heads out the door.
“My first piece was a world map on wood that I hand-painted with stain to remind myself that I would one day travel the world.”
“In high school, I worked in construction, so I had a background in power tools, which initially pushed me to work with wood. But then I found it gave my pieces a greater connection to nature, especially when using old and reclaimed wood. It creates an authentic natural tone.”
“Reclaimed wood is my favorite, but I dabble with some harder-to-find hardwoods like walnut and maple. I source it from all over the place. Sometimes it’s from past projects, like ripping up an old fence, or rugged barn wood that I found on Facebook Marketplace.”
“A few clients have given me specific wood for their custom pieces. One family commissioned a rugged landscape of their land in the mountains using wood from the old barn that used to be on the property.”
“I’m most inspired by my time backpacking in the backcountry. There are so many trails here in Colorado, but I’m more inspired by the untouched land.”
“With my art, I want to capture moments that I find captivating and convey that sense of wonder to the viewer. Like hiking for miles to finally arrive at the turquoise lake. I want viewers to feel the same awe and desire to be there in real life.”
“I like to work on one big piece at a time. Once I put it on my workbench, I won’t take it off until it’s done. Each piece takes me about 70 hours, but that’s only after 10 years of doing this, building up the hand-eye coordination to hand-cut all the wood pieces very quickly and accurately. I’m all gung ho about 100% by hand.”
“With a lot of pieces, I’m actually not sure how I’ll pull off a certain element at the beginning. I’ll come up with a general idea in the ideation phase and then figure it out as I go. This is by far one of my favorite parts of being an artist. Learning a new skill or technique on the fly and seeing how it all comes together in the end really stokes my creative flame.”
“I have a starry night collection coming out soon with a bunch of variations like the Northern Lights and Milky Way.”
