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For a painter like Judy Singer, Gwartzman’s is unlike any other shop in the city.

A frequent visitor to the Spadina Avenue art-supply store since 1970, Singer says Gwartzman’s evokes an atmosphere of friendliness and comradery. “It’s a down-to-earth place where you can schmooze with other artists, or with the employees who are also artists,” she says. “The whole place is really special to me.”

She’s not alone. Visual artists have supported Gwartzman’s since its humble beginnings in 1945, when it began as a drapery and fabrics business in what is now Chinatown.

Back then, affordable rents drew artists to the Spadina and College neighbourhood. “It started with canvas,” says general manager Jacklyn Gwartzman, the granddaughter of founders Bella and Morris Gwartzman, and daughter of Paul Gwartzman, who became the face of the store when it transitioned from fabrics to art supplies. “Because my dad understood fabrics, he had the sources to get what artists wanted. Of course, at that time there weren’t as many canvas and linen choices and suppliers as there are now.”

Stepping into the long, narrow store today, one is struck by the wide variety of brushes, paints, pens and accessories. A wall of oil paints offers colours such as Radiant Turquoise, Naples Yellow and Vandyke Brown. Dozens of paint brushes sport funky names like “cat’s tongue” (for finer work) and the larger “paddle brush” (for wider strokes).

The store prepares artists with all the other goodies they need, such as varnish, linseed soap, brush cleaners and plaster casts. It even carries vegan watercolour paper from Germany, which doesn’t contain any animal products in its glue.

“We have all types of artists walk through our doors,” Gwartzman says, “from folks we’ve seen for decades to parents looking to get their kids started early with art.”

And even though Spadina is no longer home to an artist community, Jacklyn has no plans to move, especially since the family owns the property. “We feel at home here,” she says, “and I love downtown. I love being so close to two historical neighbourhoods: Kensington Market and Chinatown.”

Gwartzman’s has also found a home online, selling its products around the world through its website. “Artists now have social media, online resources and can show their work all over the world,” she says, adding that’s it’s only natural the store should follow suit.

It’s another layer atop the foundation her parents solidified when they ran the store.

“My parents had a really great working relationship,” Jacklyn says. “They could be together all day here at the store and then go home and have a life separate from the business.”

Working at the store as a teen, Jacklyn saw how much compassion her father, who died in 2019, had for struggling artists. “He always wanted to make the supplies as affordable as possible,” Jacklyn says, “and he would always extend credit whenever they needed it.”

Jacklyn is now the main family member now driving the business forward, along with help from her mother — who retired from working in education — and her 27-year-old daughter Michelle.

When asked what motivates her to remain a fixture at Gwartzman’s, Jacklyn says, “I love what I do. It’s always interesting, it’s always a challenge, there’s always something to learn.

“My dad used to say you stop what you are doing when it’s no longer fun,” she adds. “And I am still having fun.”

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