Walking down Wright Avenue near Sorauren Park, you can’t miss Scotty Schafer’s art studio and gallery. On a sunny day, the fixed-up garage has the doors wide open and large-scale paintings displayed on the sidewalk, and you’re likely to find Scotty working away on one of his pieces. Many of his paintings are inspired by nature and the sceneryclose to his house near Lake Erie. Birch trees, colourful leaves and wide open skies are favourites themes, though he produces abstract pieces as well. Like an abstract painting, you can see lots of different things in Scotty’s life: a former interior designer turned full-time artist, a traveler who has lived in different cities, a downtown dweller who loves the country, and a storyteller – just to scratch the surface. Scotty worked as an interior designer for nearly 40 years. He was living and working in Vancouver and began traveling to San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. “I fell in love with the community. It’s deliciously chic,” he says. “It’s a beautiful historic city, and there is a young sophistication to it,” he says of his Mexican home. “There are lots of artists, painters and restaurateurs. They celebrate art, culture and food.” He would spend winters down south painting and even opened a gallery that has been popular with tourists. His latest collection of paintings offered in Mexico sold out. After living in Mexico for a few years, Scotty came to Toronto for family a little over six years ago. His son had an apartment on Parkside Drive, and Scotty would set up his paintings on the front lawn. People would stop and check out his work, and sometimes he was able to sell a few pieces a day. He recognized that there was a market for his style of work in the neighbourhood.
When one of his friends mentioned that he had a unique studio space available to rent, Scotty jumped at it, opening Schafer’s Gallery in 2012. The studio and live-in space allows him to work inside and out, in view of his neighbours. People often drop by for a visit – the Muskoka chairs set out near the sidewalk are pretty inviting. His daughter Dana and grandson River, 4, who live close by, are often at the studio as well. Dana is a jewellery designer, and she also runs popular after-school art classes for kids out of the studio. His dog, Maddy Bear, who he found at a friend’s salon and rescued from a sketchy situation nearly eight years ago, keeps watch over the comings and goings. In his studio, Scotty creates original, affordable art. He says that after his career in interior design, it was easy to make the transition to full-time painting. He knows how art is likely to be featured in a house, and he creates art that will work in those spaces. His paintings are affordable to families in the neighbourhood, who would like to have an original piece but likely have a limited budget to work with. “The community has really supported me and I’ve sold a lot of work here,” he says. “I keep my art inexpensive so that families in the neighbourhood can afford it.” He can often spot his paintings in the homes as he walks around the neighbourhood. While he sells most of his work directly to his clients, he also sells through interior designers and at exclusive home design stores, including Home Smith Interiors on Roncesvalles. His work can also be found on display at some businesses in the neighbourhood. “The area is interesting, and the neighbourhood is completely changing,” he says. “I love being in the city, and I like this space. I don’t think I would find a space like this anywhere else.”
With summer approaching, Scotty will be spending more time with family and friends at his Lake Erie home, and in November, he will be spending more of his time in Mexico where he is building a home north of San Jose. Having just turned 65, he’s not retiring – “What would I do with myself?” he says. He will continue painting and selling art from his gallery, mainly to tourists and people with vacation homes in the area.
While Scotty’s live/work arrangement in Roncesvalles appears to be a little more unconventional than some of his neighbours, many have welcomed him and the artistic atmosphere he brings to the area. He and his gallery have become fixtures in the neighbourhood over the last five years, and though Scotty himself may be a little less visible in the neighbourhood as he transitions to spending more of his time down south, his art will remain to bring colour into many of the neighbourhood homes.
Written By Eileen Hoftyzer Photography by Chris Cabral
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