David Wooddell

I paint what it is like to look at a thing, not what a thing looks like.
Having painted since childhood—long before I truly understood what an artist was—I still view my practice as an ongoing process of self-definition.
Across my journey through Chicago, Washington D.C., New York, Boston, and now the desert landscape outside Phoenix, my commitment to working strictly from life remains absolute.
Whether standing before a vast landscape, a quiet still life, or a live model, my work is rooted entirely in raw human experience.
For me, the physical presence of the paint is vital. I do not polish away the process; instead, I leave brushstrokes and drips fully evident to tell the honest story of the making.
My work separates looking from seeing. Seeing is passive, but looking requires deliberate choice.
Through texture, mark-making, and unrefined materiality, I reject the distance of the mechanized world to create an intimate, unmediated connection between the viewer and the canvas.
I want to compel you to look, not merely to see.

MURALIST, PROJECT MANAGER, EVERGREENE PAINTING STUDIO, NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Executed and managed large scale mural projects including:
• 40,000 square foot sky ceiling, Caesar’s Palace, Atlantic City, 1997.
• Over 100 murals on canvas for The Venetian, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1999.
• Dome Ceiling, Dubai, 1999.
MURALIST AND PROJECT MANAGER, RICHARD HAAS EXTERIOR MURALS.
Executed and managed large scale exterior architectural murals for Richard Haas, including:
• 3200 square foot Absolut Haas, New York, New York, 1996.
1200 Square foot Gateway to the Hudson, Yonkers, New York, 1998.

Teaching
Friday painting sessions, Orchard Gardens Boys and Girls Club, Boston, 2013 to Present.

Education
• MFA, 1995, The American University, Washington, D.C.
• Chautauqua Summer Program with Stanley Lewis, 1993-1995.
BFA, 1989, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Currently featured at The Center for Figurative Painting in "Shaping Post-War American Landscape." through April 2024, as well as several pieces in their permanent collection.



• Solo Shows, 55 Mercer Gallery, New York New York, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
• Washington Art Center, Washington Depot, Ct. 2005
Group Shows
• Figurative Painting Now, 55 Mercer Gallery, 2001
• Atrium Gallery, Lewiston, ME., 2007
The Figure Revealed, Atrium Gallery, Lewiston, ME, 2007
Four Artists, Distillery Gallery, Boston, 2007
Distillery Gallery Spring Group show 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Distillery Gallery Fall Group show, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Spring Show, Decorative Arts, Chicago, 2014

CURATOR
Figurative Painting Now, 55 Mercer Gallery, NY, NY, 2001
Produced performance of Rutter’s requiem, in row boats, on Lake Chautauqua,NY, at midnight. Summer, 1992