Todd Woodward

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Artist Bio

Hi. Most people call me Woodz, but I was born Todd James Woodward in New Bedford, Massachusetts in November of '76. My first memory of the art world is from when I was about 6-years old, when I began to draw on the walls of my parent's house. I can imagine my folks weren't too happy with my choice of medium, but they were always supportive none-the-less. They encouraged all forms of expression. Whether it was a pat on the back for enhancing my Sesame Street pillowcases or a standing ovation after I lip-synched some Little Anthony and the Imperials tune, they always appreciated my creative impulses. That's where my love of art was born; dad's eight tracks and mom's nail polish (for paint, in case you were wondering). Although I was consumed by art at an early age, I was an active kid as well. Playing sports and dabbling in art took up most of my time, which is probably why my grades were a little less than stellar. I did learn one thing in school though - how to cope with boredom. Throughout high school, an art teacher named Becky Zora-Booth introduced me to a world of art forms. I would skip classes to sneak into her art studio and work with all the different mediums from photography to pottery to charcoal. It was truly like heaven for me; unlimited access to tools and supplies without the cost. (I owe you Becky!)

I'm also indebted to Marc Friedman who got me into performing. Around '91, he approached me and asked that I join his band as the lead singer. This coming from someone who is considered one of the best bass players out there today, you can imagine that I happily obliged. At 15, I was in my first gigging band, Gaylen Groove. We built up a pretty nice following and gigged regularly for the better part of 2 years in and around New Bedford. Then came college.

I put the microphone down for a while and packed my bags for the West. I went to Adams State College in Colorado where I studied drawing and design. As a 2-D artist, I was busier than I had ever been, though I don't have much to show for it. When your 17-years old, unemployed, and 2,000 miles from home you have to find beer money somehow. So, I chose to sell my prints. After a couple of semesters at school, the college life just wasn't doing it for me, and so I started to dedicate most of my time to snowboarding. I eventually moved to Breckenridge, CO, where I worked as a cook by night and rode all day. I was loving it - living with my high school sweetheart in the middle of a carefree, mountain strewn play land. It was also where I met Brian Serin, a tattoo artist. He saw my drawings and suggested I try my hand at tattooing. He taught me everything he knew, and before I knew it, I was in a booth at a Four Corner's bike rally giving a rose tattoo to a Hell's Angel.

Everything was running dreamy when suddenly my roller coaster hit a life-warping kink. On December 19, 1995, my girl was struck by a drunk driver and died hours later. I felt like I had died the second I found out. I moved back East after that and did a lot of writing. Along with the help of friends back home, poetry was how I coped. After about a year, I moved back to the mountains to pursue snowboarding. Bad choice.

Just when I thought there was no more room for life's low blows I was almost knocked out completely. I punctured a lung in a snowboarding accident and nearly killed myself. While lying in my hospital bed, I decided there and then that I needed to get out of Dodge. And with the timing of Big Ben came Big Joely D, a high school pal. He called and asked me to move to Portland, Oregon to fill a room at a house where he was staying. I was there within a month - tattooing and writing, hiking and chillin' with pals. It was a fantastic time. I guess you could say it was my therapy. But, eventually summer went by and it was time to move on.

In the fall of '98 I moved to Boulder, Colorado to share an apartment with my best friend Al Rogers. He later introduced me to a guitar player named Jamie Steube and we formed Ordinary K, a rag tag ensemble of gifted yet troubled musicians. We had crazy talent, but not much direction. We attracted crowds wherever we played. Maybe being a hip-hop band in the middle of bluegrass central helped us to stand out. Whatever it was, word got out. We had a trifling start, but after a few lineup changes we had our crew. We toured the country and packed houses in Colorado and beyond.

It's hard for me to concentrate so much on only one project though, and so while I continued with Ordinary K, I decided to try my hand at oil painting. I put down the ink gun in exchange for a paintbrush and immediately fell in love with the medium. It took me a few months to build up a nice little collection; a bunch of which I sold independently. I had my first showing at Gallery Sovereign in Boulder, followed by two more later that year. My paintings were selling and the band was doing great. More exposure was all we could ask for. We wanted to reach as many people as possible. So like a squad of gypsies, the OK caravan headed East.

In August of '03, we set up shop in the Big Apple. I landed a job doing some construction work at Tony Shafrazi's Gallery in Chelsea, which only heightened my need to paint. The job lasted about 7 months and I was able to see some of the greatest artwork I've ever laid my eyes on. From Picasso to Francis Bacon and Basquiat, talk about inspiration!

I also just released "PARADISE", my debut solo album which features Shae Fiol, and is produced by Patrick Lee. I't's been getting great reviews, and to top it off, people I don't even know are buying it! I never planned to be an artist living in New York, but here I am. I'm playing music and showing my art - I guess I'm living my dream.

With all that's happened in my life, it's impossible to sum it up in a few paragraphs. I consider myself very lucky to have seen the things I have, done the things I've done, and be surrounded by so many intriguing people. Inspiration is all around me and I'll always use it to create what is unseen within me.

- Woodz

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