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Christine Flynn is one gutsy artist. Last month, the Toronto-based graphic designer and photographer set up shop in a west Queen West walk-up, a space so quintessentially cool it’s almost self-conscious. Call it a showroom or gallery, the light-filled loft oozes urban sophistication with its wide-plank pine floors and exposed brick walls, its mid-century-inspired sofa and crystal chandelier.

On the walls are a selection of Flynn’s photographs, large-scale, highly-saturated outputs, mounted on stretchers and finished with a thick coat of high-gloss epoxy resin. The subject matter may be rural — horses, cows, forests and fields — but the treatment is completely now.

Flynn describes herself as “country girl at heart” even though she’s been an urban dweller for years. She grew up in southwest Ontario and her connection to the bumpy back roads is clear in her choice of subject matter.

In the last few years, Flynn has established herself as a designer of cards and invitations. Her latest endeavor, Love the Design (1084 Queen St. W., 416.408.1727) — so called because that’s the response her work so often elicits — is an extension of her custom invite business, Love the Card.

Flynn’s goal with her new showroom is to eliminate art dealer commissions and pass the savings on to her clients, which include George Stroumboulopoulos and Douglas Coupland. “I want my work to be affordable to as many people as possible,” says the artist, whose large works run about $2,400; her vintage New York subway signs are priced at $800 and her stag portraits are $400 each. Flynn also does custom work — the piece gracing her staircase, below, was done for a hair studio.

Flynn’s showroom is open by appointment.