Dave Painter made acoustic guitars in Chantilly, Virginia from around 2005 onwards in his spare time. From the Painter Guitars website (archived in 2005):   

I am not a professional luthier.  That may seem an unusual statement to open with but it happens to be true.  A friend of mine said it best when he described himself as a "Serious Amateur"  I like that, and I'm going to steal his title.  I am a Serious Amateur.  Heck, a "Professional" has to make a living doing whatever he  claims as his profession.  I have the luxury of building guitars simply because I love doing it.

This allows me certain advantages.  I 'm not affected by the pressure of such unrelated things as putting food on the table or paying for the kids college.  I build guitars because I want to, and because I find it immensely rewarding.  We all know talented musicians who choose to make their living doing something else.  It's not that they couldn't make a living playing music, they have simply chosen to work in another field where they  likely make more money, or have better benefits, or more regular hours, or whatever; it doesn't stop them from enjoying their music and it doesn't mean they aren't good musicians.

I started building guitars a few years ago in order to fulfill a lifelong dream.  My very first guitar turned out well and I was hooked!  I've been fortunate in my life to have had the opportunity to do a lot of different things and pick up a number of skills along the way.  Many of those skills are  useful in guitar making so you might say I had a head start, or a good background, for a career in luthiery.

Someday I'll retire, and when that happens I might go Pro.  In the meantime I'm just going to enjoy making guitars for my new friends.

Dave Painter, 2005

Painter guitars models offered (in 2005):

• Parlour  Dimensionally similar to Martin's size "O", this little 12 fret guitar is a crowd pleaser. Louder than you might expect given it's compact size, it is just plain fun to play. It's short scale gives you light action and makes string bending easy. Although it is a great choice for  guitarists of smaller stature it is popular with everyone because it is easy on the fingers, travels well, and has great balance.  Who said great sound only comes from big guitars?
• OO  Another wonderfully surprising small bodied guitar.  this one is based on (you guessed it) Martin's OO sized guitar. Standard with a 14 fret neck and a 24.9" scale this guitar is wonderfully balanced.
• Concert  With a shape reminiscent of Gibson's LGO made popular during  the folk boom of the 1960's this 14 fret, mid-sized guitar has a deep body which contributes to its big voice.  Available in a variety of scale lengths to suit different playing styles this guitar is remarkable versatile.
• Grand Concert  My version of the venerable 14 fret OM. Also available with a special deep body which improves bass response.
• Dreadnaught  Dreadnaughts are probably the most common steel string acoustic guitar.  Why mess with perfection? My dreadnaught has a 14 fret neck , scalloped x-bracing, and a large list of options.
• Slope Shoulder Dreadnaught   Everything you love in a regular Dreadnaught and more . . .and less.  the more is volume, presence, and response.  the less is 12 frets to the neck rather than the more common 14. Ideal for folk and flat picking.