STUART, PHILADELPHIA.-  Howard Schafer loved two things most: boating and painting. After his retirement, he blocked out nearly everything else and concentrated on both. When he died Wednesday of cancer at age 66, Schafer was nationally known for his oils and watercolors of boats, fishermen and tidewater scenes.   

"They were his lifelong career and passion, almost equally," said his son Stephen, 32.  

"He loved the Bahamas for the way they looked, not that they were necessarily the greatest place for sailing. He cruised over there with his friends. He was always looking for those authentic working boats, the conch smacks, and the people that lived in the villages."  

Born in Philadelphia, Schafer worked as a concept artist for the United States space program, and until his retirement in 1988 was a freelance illustrator and designer of architectural renderings.  

"Even when he was doing illustrations full time, he still would do oil paintings in his spare time," Stephen Schafer said. "He knew that he wanted to do that if he could, if he could make money at it."  

He and wife, Jean, moved to Stuart in 1973.  

Schafer’s work was exhibited at Peter’s Gallery in Sewall’s Point, and he participated in numerous group art shows on the Treasure Coast. He was also featured in several galleries in the Chesapeake Bay area, where he frequently visited.  

"I considered it an honor to be his friend," the Stuart resident said. "He was a real good guy, a gentleman and a good sailor. He loved the water more than anything else.  

"I guess his real forte was that he painted a time when we really all enjoyed the water. He really had a good eye for catching those old times, when sailing was something you did for work as opposed to play." 

Schafer is survived by his wife Jean K. Schafer, and son Stephen Schafer.  

Bahamian Shipwreck is the painting that Schafer exhibited at the 12th Annual Exhibition of The American Society Of Marine Artists, whose mission is to recognize and promote marine art and history.