My two page sketch journal spread from yesterday with ASk

Tri Dee Art Supply is on a corner in downtown Mt. Vernon, across the street from the Co-op Grocery and Deli. Just looking at the two story square brick building from outside, you know it's going to be fun shopping in there.

Thank you, Tri Dee, for my Palomino Blackwing 620 pencil!

I had such a great time, inside the store and out. First, I saw this fabulously colorful umbrella, hanging upside down from the ceiling as a lamp shade. While I sketched it, a woman came in from her walk in the sunny spring weather. She liked it, too. As well as the stack of retro toys and games behind her.

The store owners gave each of us sketchers a Palomino Blackwing 620 pencil, favored by John Steinbeck and others. See the story of the pencil, here. At one time, they were going for $40 a pencil on Ebay.

Outside, on the front sidewalk, was the sandwich board advertising more fun stuff to do here. A tree was all cozied up with a yarn bomb made by an expert. All sorts of colors and patterns decorated it and it was custom fit to the bifurcated tree as it branched out above head height.

The wall mural in the alley is a huge chalkboard, where you can finish the sentence: Before I die I want to:___________________. One person wrote: ......Take over the world with GOATS.
What would you write?

Sketching at Tri Dee Art Supply

Tri Dee Art Supply back door and mural. 

There's always such a positive, welcoming environment when I go to Tri Dee Art Supply in Mt. Vernon.You can tell it's going to be creative, fun and exciting, just by the way it looks on the outside!

The back wall has a huge mural that says, "Make Art Not War". It consists of 139 pieces made by members of the community, from the owner's daughter to well known artists.

In the alley, there is a giant chalkboard with blank spaces for you to fill in your words at the end of the sentence: "Before I die I want to____________". Anyone can write on it. Just like the people who made them, the statements are thought provoking, sad, affirmative or amusing.

I liked the ones that said: Before I die I want to:
........Ride an elephant with (name)
........Dance lots
........Take over the world with GOATS
While I was outside sketching, I saw what seemed to be a newly engaged couple, with their photographer, writing that they wanted to marry each other.

On the tree out in front, there is an example of probably the most positive form of graffiti, a yarn bomb. A lovely, colorful cozy has been custom fitted around the tree. This is no beginner project, with various bright colors and patterns, extending several feet all the way up to where it branches in two, and beyond!

Only three of us (Anne, Michele, Sandy) made it back inside the store for a photo on the steps with our sketches.

It was such a lovely day, sunny and in the 60's. What a treat for February! So although our sketch meet up was planned so that we could shelter from winter inside, many of us just had to take advantage of the early spring weather. Some walked up and down the block, others joined up way down by the river. I'm looking forward to seeing their sketches as they post them on the Anacortes Sketchers Blog in the next few days! So much to tell you today, so I'll post my sketches from the day tomorrow!