It was early in the morning on the second day of the International Sportsmen's Expo in Denver. The exhibit hall wasn’t open to the public yet. A woman waited quietly, alone in the artist’s booth whom she had met the day before. She had been here, carefully examining the wood carvings, admiring their intricacies, 3-dimensional nature, and all the stories they told. It was the small sign that caught her eye. Art could be commissioned. Could this medium be the perfect piece for her project? She left with no further discussion, excited. With thought of what was possible in her head, she had a hard time sleeping and returned the next day with her vision and her request.
Unaware, the artist made his way back through the exhibit hall, ready for another full day of customers and conversations. As he approached his booth he saw the familiar woman waiting for him. She explained her admiration for his art, her restless night, and her request… a four-foot wide carving of The Last Supper to adorn the entryway of her new home. Could he do it?
Don Woodward moved away from Indiana with his family in December of 1959, and was one of the first 1000 families to settle in the small, budding community of Broomfield, Colorado. After graduating from Broomfield High School, he began his collegiate studies at CU Boulder. Don found art as a form of expression his Junior year in college, finding a particular passion for commercial art, long before the days of CAD. He enjoyed hand drawing each intricate detail of a commercial or architectural design. Unfortunately, CU didn’t offer degrees in commercial design, so he took the art-focused coursework available to him and graduated with a degree in fine art.
After college, he couldn’t find a job. Resourceful, he began racing cars during the summer as a way to make money. Don remembers a day racing when he paused to watch the sign painters lettering the race cars. He figured, “I can do that!” and began to practice lettering the cars in the local junkyard to perfect this new trade and open his own sign company, a moment that launched Don into a lifetime career of leadership and entrepreneurship, all with a common thread of art and design.
Don was first intrigued by wood carving during a visit to Silver Dollar City, an amusement park in southern Missouri. While exploring the theme park he happened upon a wood carving studio. The detail and skill on display was impressive to him, so much so that after a short conversation with the artist, he decided to purchase a set of tools to try his hand at the craft. He returned home, back to his busy life and those wood carving tools sat, unused on a closet shelf.
Twenty-five years later, as Don was unwinding in front of the TV, he became bored. Often drawn toward the process of creating and creativity, Don dusted off his wood carving tools and headed off to the garage determined to, “try and carve some wood”. Picking a photo from one of his passions, the backcountry pack-horse trips he would lead, Don began to carve. Happy with this first attempt, and recognizing the path of mastery, Don dedicated himself to the practice of carving, and for about twelve years he carved many pieces that pleased his audiences. From landscapes to wildlife to the challenge of carving faces and the emotions that go with them, Don’s used the details of his carvings to tell stories, bringing to life his adventures of getting lost deep in the wilderness with his horses surrounded by nature's canvas.
Which brings us full circle to the moment in the art booth, and the commissioned work, The Last Supper. “Her request set me back for a moment,” said Don, “could I actually carve The Last Supper?” At that moment, he just didn’t know. He went home to research as much as he could about Da Vinci's original painting and found many many creations by a great number of artists all with their own versions. He found himself ready to make his own interpretation of the piece, and accepted the project. Slowly and with great detail, Don carved, sculpting his version of one of the most famous stories ever told. “I have to admit however, that I was a bit nervous when finishing the carving, because the last person I carved was Jesus, and I was praying that I wouldn’t make the mistake of cutting off his nose!” One of his most labor intensive and significant works, his client was very pleased with the outcome. So was Don.
Life in the West Art Gallery is Don Woodward’s career capstone. In retirement, his focus has now turned not only to his passion for telling his own stories through woodcarving, but giving a voice for other artists to tell their stories as well. Don’s newest carving project is a set of miniature pieces he calls the “Critter Series”, to include a grizzly, a mountain lion, and the famous Colorado mountain goat.
His one-of-a-kind gallery opened in Broomfield in January of 2022 with the goal of showcasing nationally recognized artists, and equally amazing local artists, to the Front Range community. In addition to his own work, Life in the West Gallery highlights many different styles and mediums of artwork from Traditional to Contemporary with a focus on telling the story of what “Life in the West” is all about. With the hopes of hosting 3-4 national shows in 2023, Don looks forward to bringing people together to share their experiences. “Every piece of art has a story behind it, and the story is often more exciting than the art.”
“Every piece of art has a story behind it, and the story is often more exciting than the art.”