Monica LaSalle, Peak to Peak. Walking into the restaurant, there are people seated in carefully spaced out tables waiting for a savory evening meal over heartfelt yet lively conversation with other locals in the community. They come from the South end of the County, driving in from Black Hawk and Central City. They come from around the corner in Mid-Gilpin County from populated dirt roads spidering out from main veins along the South Beaver Creek, and they come from the Northern part of the county where locals brave the seemingly never ending stops and starts that is part of the long overdue infrastructure upgrades reflected all over the country. 

The walls are covered with shelves holding a shot glass collection from around the world, tokens of friendship and love from patrons over the past 13 years intermingled with oil paintings and acrylics reflecting more familiar faces and cherished memories of the past. Flat slabs of wood hang from support beams displaying local scenes of firefighters and emergency responders, comical scenes of joviality and cheer, all burned into the wood with great detail and care. 

This afternoon there is a buzz of expectation, of anticipation at a back table where friends have gathered to wait for Roy Stewart, owner and proprietor of Roy’s Last Shot to join them. Roy is more than a restaurant owner and head cook. What he carries with him to the table is just one of many artistic collaborations he has on deck that he hopes to invest most of his free time towards. The work that is his true passion and calling; artistic expression through wood burning. As he approaches the table, 17 year old Allison Hardt-Zeman’s eyes light up when Roy pulls the violin body up to show her the beautiful engravings he burned at her request. Wild horses run across the back plate below sunflowers in full bloom. Smaller horses and flower buds run all along the side wood, trimming the instrument in a ring of beauty reflective of the sounds that will be carefully coaxed from its future vibrations.

“The sunflowers are perfect and remind me of Barbara (Lawlor)… it’s everything I wanted,” exclaimed Allison as she hugs Roy in thanks and appreciation. “If she likes it, it makes my day,” he says as his eyes tear up. He turns to sit down to talk shop. “I’ve had that thing for four years trying to get to it, and it took me three weeks to complete,” he says with a tired sigh. He describes his frustration in spending all his time working the restaurant while waiting for the right sale offer. He looks forward to the time when all he has to do is complete the many commissions he has taken on for people. These art commissions bring him a calm and peace that is hard for him to attain while working at the restaurant. 

Wood burning is an art form that he started back as early as eight years old when he also widdled wood. This and other creative outlets such as painting are his true passion and the way he feeds his soul in the otherwise demanding and tumultuous day to day existence we all are living presently. Like everyone, it gets hard when all his time and energy is being pulled to work the restaurant. 

Roy tells me about projects still waiting for him to begin, such as one he received five or six years ago. A piece requested to reflect trains in the area and still others for long time locals who want scenes such as the old Pioneer Inn, the South Beaver Creek area, 119 and 72 or in honor of Timberline Fire. Working 90 hours a week in his restaurant makes it impossible for him to get to work on them, and to find regular relief from the stresses of the world. 

He did complete the Timberline project. Timberline firefighter Chip Smith stated, “Roy Stewart is a gifted artist. There are numerous examples of his craft on display at the Last Shot. Last summer I asked Roy if he could do one of his wonderful wood burning and painting pieces with a Timberline Fire Protection District theme.”

Roy and his wife Barb have been huge supporters of TFPD.  Roy’s response was “Hell yah!” Smith continues, “He told me that he had a great slab of wood that would be perfect.  The next step was to supply him with ideas and images.

The next day I brought over some photos of TFPD apparatus and logos. TFPD engines, fire fighters, mountain backgrounds, and selfishly, I requested that the 1924 Parade engine be included. My wife Donna and I purchased and donated this truck to the district in honor of all the retired Gilpin and Boulder County fire fighters. 

After months of effort, this work is completed now and is at the Last Shot. Upon seeing it for the first time I simply was overwhelmed with the piece of art. Thank you Roy. It is beautiful and I am very grateful.”

As this reporter looks at his latest creation, I know I can’t wait to see it once it is varnished and hear it sing out the happiness and peace the design will surely influence. Seeing the twinkle in Roy’s tired eyes, I realize that we all have our battles and uphill climbs in life, but if we can find what brings us peace and invest our time likewise, there is hope for us all that will reverberate throughout. 

To check out Roy’s artwork in person, stop in at The Last Shot, located at 17268 Hwy 119, in mid Gilpin County.

(Originally published in the July 23, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)