Scott Lakey’s creative works can be found across Coeur d’Alene and beyond By Taylor Shillam
“I’ve always been a mural artist,” says Scott Lakey. With his long list of vibrant paintings found at Coeur d’Alene churches, schools and local businesses of all kinds, he says, “I’ve always been that guy.”
Scott moved back to Coeur d’Alene in 2011 with a goal to create a co-working space for creative people. There, he reconnected with Jeremy Deming, who he would work with on a number of artistic endeavors across Coeur d’Alene.
Their first mural as a duo was at the Body Shop in Riverstone. Now, “I’ve painted 87 murals to date, and Jeremy has been with me on most of them,” Scott shares.
“We take a graffiti artist approach, using spray paint only,” he says. “Because we take that approach, it goes fairly quickly. It takes just one to four days, and some projects are over 100-foot walls with 25-foot ceilings.”
Scott drew from his own background as a graffiti artist. “I’m from the graffiti world, where it’s about doing things quickly and having a plan,” he says. “Jeremy’s background is in the sign world, so he brought those old-school sign techniques.” The duo completes in days what could take weeks to achieve with paintbrushes.
A favorite mural of Scott’s is the one he and Jeremy created at Pilgrim’s Market in June of 2020. They haven’t slowed down since.
He and Jeremy just regrouped and finished the gym at Lakeland High School. Next up was a painting at Jamms Frozen Yogurt. Plans to return to Lakeland High School for another project in the spring are already in place.
“We keep busy. The mural thing is so unique, and there’s not a lot of people or commercial art to do it.”
In addition to his success as a mural artist, Scott’s goal to start a co-working space for creatives was realized in 2013, when he launched Artcolab. It took off with success, allowing the duo to coordinate mural projects through the organization and become a vendor for specialized paints from Germany.
Artcolab was designed to be “a fun, awesome space where any person or business can have a cool, creative space,” Scott says, offering the space as an alternative to working from home or meeting at a coffee shop. The space is located at 401 East Sherman Avenue, just above the Moose Lounge, and offers coffee and beer on tap for its guests.
“It’s a single office with a lounge and lobby area,” describes Scott. “In 2020, we consolidated to a corporate office that we use as a leasable, one-day, one-week, or three-week maximum office rental in downtown Coeur d’Alene. It’s designed specifically for creatives, but we give people options.”
Originally from Twin Falls, Idaho, Scott grew up in a dairy farming family in Central California before moving to Coeur d’Alene to attend Lake City High School. He went to art school in Seattle, and now splits his time between Coeur d’Alene and Pismo Beach, California.
In Pismo Beach, he often paints commercial spaces and works with a restaurant group to provide unique art within their spaces.
“Chain restaurants see value in having character and highlighting their really good food,” he explained. “Rather than have stock art, they can have custom art by an artist that is unique to them and their vibe. How much better does a sandwich taste in a cool gallery art space?”
Upon returning to Coeur d’Alene in 2011, he was glad to reconnect with the local art culture, and hopes to spread that love of art culture to Pismo Beach. His goal for 2023 is to open a second Artcolab space there.
“It’s so cool to paint the city in Coeur d’Alene,” he said. Scott and his team work with businesses directly, often without extra charges and regulations, which typically isn’t the case in Pismo Beach.
In the future, he also hopes to bring Coeur d’Alene artists together in a community project.
“There are so many cool art projects, and they spend so much on community art,” he said of Coeur d’Alene. “We’re just at the beginning for the mural side of it. These big mural projects are an easy way to turn black buildings vibrant, and bring more life to the city.”
Scott’s art continues to bring life to the Coeur d’Alene community. He is currently
building out an online mural map to showcase his work, including locations and descriptions of each mural. Examples of his work and more information about the creative workspace offered at Artcolab can be found at Artcolab.com and on Facebook.
Photo by Rachel Adair