Astoria artist creates coastal art Aarts is the owner of Papernoten BY ZOË BUCHLI Whether she is making a collage of Cape Disappointment or a watercolor painting inspired by whale watching, Astoria-based artist Lindsey Aarts can often be found creating vivid illustrations of coastal-influenced scenes. Originally from Florida, Aarts moved to Astoria in 2017 and started her statio- nery business, “Papernoten.” “I’ve always kind of been a hobby art- ist,” Aarts said. After she had kids, Aarts looked for something that would still keep her cre- atively engaged, which is how she got into graphic design projects. From there, her business took off. She has since been fill- Lindsey Aarts ing her days with creating vibrant land- scape illustrations. The name “Papernoten” is a play on words from the Dutch holiday cookie, “Pepernoten.” Aarts’ husband is Dutch, she said. Through getting introduced to Dutch culture and cooking, she heard about the cookie and connected the dots with how similar it sounded to “Papernoten.” “It was the perfect name for a statio- nery store,” she said. Aarts is working on the “100 Days Project,” an annual project she first par- ticipated in in 2019 where artists pro- duce new pieces for 100 consecutive days See Page 9 CLOCKWISE: A humpback whale Aarts made using watercolors. Aarts’ pieces on display at the Astoria Sunday Market. A collage of Cape Disappointment Aarts made during the 100 Days Project. OPENING JUNE 1, 2021 3D Theater Lightship Tour NEW TO THE 3D THEATER Gift Store FREE FOR MEMBERS C R M M OPEN DAILY 9:30 TO 5:00 • 1792 Marine Drive, Astoria • 503.325.2323 • www.crmm.org 8 // COASTWEEKEND.COM