Let's say THANK YOU to Daniel Smith, September 5 at 10am

My fellow sketchers and artists, 

You've probably heard the very sad news that this pillar and center of our arts community in the Pacific Northwest and beyond is closing permanently in November. 

For decades at the Mother Ship of the world famous Daniel Smith Fine Art Materials, its wonderful staff and management have generously nurtured and promoted our arts community--from bringing in world famous artists to offer a constant stream of incredible workshops and demos, to hosting book signing events to support local authors (like me!), to providing a place where local talent can teach classes on a regular basis, to providing a meeting space for organizations like the Northwest Watercolor Society, to constantly and creatively offering support and learning opportunities to our arts community in countless ways both big and small. 

And of course there is the amazing array of supplies in their huge, light-filled space, the friendliest and most knowledgable staff with whom we've become friends, and much more. I spent many a morning perusing the aisles and finding just the right brush or paint or pen, always staying at least an hour longer than I had planned. If it's possible to be emotionally attached to a store, well, they've achieved it. We will all miss this place so much!

In light of these sad changes, NOW is the time to say THANK YOU to everyone at the DANIEL SMITH flagship store!!!!!

Let's say thanks in our Urban Sketchers way by showing up for a sketchcrawl on Sunday, September 5 at 10am. Wear masks! We can sketch inside or outside, then post our work on Instagram with the hashtag #thankyoudanielsmithstoreseattle (yes, it's long, but worth it!)

Even if you can't make it on September 5, why not create your own thank you post and share it to the hashtag -- a place where the DS owners and staff can see how much they are loved and will be missed. Let's also encourage other artists we know to create their own posts and share their favorite memories to this hashtag. 

As they permanently shut their doors, let's say a huge Urban Sketchers THANK YOU to John, Thom, Patrice, Janice, our own Sue Heston, and everyone at DS!!! 

(And kudos to the store also for maintaining ALL of their full-time staff during the pandemic and beyond, they have all pivoted to working on the production side!)