Post Falls man shares collection of creations

POST FALLS — Name any animal or any kind of classic car and Tim Scarola has most likely brought it to life through his art.

Now name an artistic medium — acrylic, watercolor, oil, glass or wood, perhaps?

Yep, he's dabbled in those, too.

"I'm not a baseball fan, I don't like to sit around and watch TV," Scarola said Friday morning. "What else am I going to do?"

His creations hang on nearly every wall in the Post Falls home he shares with his wife, Pat Scarola. One room houses paintings of wintry night scenes, snow-dusted farm fields and New England covered bridges. In the hallway are layers of shaped wood that create a 3D effect as they depict realistically painted foxes, bald eagles and housecats. A bedroom is decorated with at least 100 more layered and framed wooden 3D paintings of flame-covered hotrods, gleaming classic cars and even a Lamborghini.

“From the first time I met him, I’ve been in awe of his talent,” said Pat, with whom Tim will celebrate 53 years of marriage May 22.

“I can’t draw a straight line," she said.

Tim has been an artist all of his life and studied art for a short period before leaving college, but he is mostly self-taught and always open to the inspiration he garners from the world around him.

“Nobody tells me what to do,” he said with a laugh. “I see something in a magazine or something like that and I go, ‘I gotta do that!’”

Originally from New York, Tim met Pat in her home state of Vermont and the two traveled to Goldendale, Wash., where they made their home for several years. They moved into their present River City home in 2013.

Tim has walked many paths and explored interesting business ventures in his lifetime. As a youngster, he and his dad, mom and brother were part of a professional roller skating act called "The Flying Scarolas." Tim said he can still skate. 

“I really like ice skating better,” he said.

He later used his aesthetic eye to build inviting and attractive displays in store windows. He owned pet fish stores and built unique aquariums. He bought golf carts, fixed them and dressed them up to sell to lucky buyers.

"I did a lot of stuff," he said.

It was during those storefront display days he first tried a car painting. He had created countless pieces with animals but was ready to try something different.

"I never did one, so then I did this car and it wasn't very nice but I put it in the window, closed the door and said, 'That thing looks like it's glowing,'" he said.

People began making requests for him to immortalize their cars in the same way, and pretty soon it became one of his main activities.

"You can’t just sit around and do nothing," Tim said.

He will often go to classic car shows and snap photos of cars that call to him. In his garage studio, he takes those photos and uses a special transfer paper to place the image outline on the wood, which he shapes using a scroll saw. He paints the image on the wood, glues another piece of wood to the back and attaches those pieces to another saw-shaped and paint-splattered piece of thin wood, which makes for a colorful background.

“I don’t just do a picture, I make it pop out,” he said.

Tim makes and paints deep frames into which the painted wood pieces will be installed. These completed pieces can take a couple days and usually fetch around $175. Many times he will try to find the cars' owners so he can offer to make a unique creation for their personal collection.

"I think most of them are my favorite," he said.

Although health and time are catching up to Scarola, now in his late 70s, he said he hopes to get to local car shows this year and continue his craft.

“It keeps him from getting into trouble,” Pat said.

Tim said he hopes someday his whole collection can go together into a museum where his work will be appreciated in the future.

“I look at those in my room and I say, ‘How did I do that? I did that,’” he said. “I just can’t believe that I did it.”

    Post Falls artist Tim Scarola discusses his work Friday morning while showing his many unique creations hanging throughout his home, including in a walk-in closet.
  

    This garage studio is where Tim Scarola turns ideas and images into painted 3D wonders.
  

    From plain wood to 3D art, this classic car painting will soon be attached to its splatter-painted background to create another unique piece in Tim Scarola's collection.
  

    Paintings come to life with Tim Scarola's touch, which includes detailed saw, paint and 3D techniques.
  

    It's not just cars - Tim Scarola has crafted many wood and paint 3D creations, including of beloved housecats and other animals.