Dots 'N Doodles: Astoria needed this!

Wedged in between two very left-brain establishments is one very right-brain shop. Can you tell which one I'm talking about? It's no longer a brand new business, but it is one of Astoria's newcomers, and it's very popular among the local artists. Astoria is visibly an artistic community with quite a large number of galleries for a town so small.

When I arrived in 2001, there were plenty of artists in Astoria, but no art supply store. I had to drive miles and miles to buy any supplies that could not be found at the stationery store. People told me that for some reason the art supply stores would come and go, never quite able to sustain themselves.

But Dots 'N Doodles seems to be doing very well. The proprietors breezed into town one day with supplies and ideas galore - and obviously a few cans of yellow and red paint. The operation took off. They sell both hard-to-find and easy-to-find supplies, hold interesting classes, and have become a destination for creative people up and down the coast.

I will admit that, despite everything, I have not been inside. I know it's going to be an interesting day for my bank account once I break that barrier. I'll wait until I start painting again. Maybe in 2010? I hope so. At the moment, it's work, work, work for another month or so. 'Tis the season, and the economic climate, too.