CAPITOLA – Artists of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to professionals, gathered at Palace Arts & Office Supply on a sunny Saturday to celebrate the local store’s 75th anniversary, pick up supplies, participate in activities and watch demonstrations by various local artists.
Mark Rispaud, Director of Business Development for Palace Art, chatted with regular customers and local artists Saturday morning and mentioned that while he loves spreadsheets, he’s a people person at heart. Rispaud has worked for Palace Art & Office Supply for about 25 years and has worn many hats throughout his career.
“I just love being in the art scene,” Rispaud said. “I’m inspired by art and interested in it, and from there I started painting myself. I don’t let anyone see my work, but my family likes my work and that’s all I need.”
He explained how the company, which has been locally owned and operated since 1949, has changed hands in recent years.
“The Trowbridge family owned it until 2021,” Rispaud said. “They just didn’t have successors for the business and we had just come out of the COVID pandemic, so business was down a lot and the lease was running out. We just wanted to close it down. Then another family from the area said they couldn’t imagine Santa Cruz without the Palace, so they bought it and took it into their hearts, and we’re still alive.”
Charles Maier took over the local art and supply store with his wife Al-lee Gottlieb in late 2021 and retained the staff, many of whom have worked for Palace Art for years, such as Rispaud’s daughter Lisa, who practically grew up in the store and works there during her summer breaks from university. Like her father, she is involved in acrylic painting.
“I’ve been coming here since I was really little and people just knew me as Mark’s daughter,” she said. “I used to do that thing where I would put the yodeling cucumber we sold over the intercom and everyone knew it was me. Now I work here but it’s nice because I get to see new art products and learn from artists who use other media.”
Although the Rispauds have a preference for acrylics, local artist Maggie Renner Hellmann, who attended the demonstration, prefers oil paints and taught customers at the store on Saturday the intricacies of hues and color combinations.
“I love Palace and I don’t want them to go away,” said Renner Hellmann, who is taking artists on a painting adventure to France next spring. “I don’t live far away, so I can just stop by and get whatever I need, and they have everything I need. It’s like a candy store.”
The store was packed with other artists from near and far showing off their skills, such as Palace Art supervisor and artist Leelah Maurer, who began painting in 2020 after taking an online course and championed eco-friendly brush cleaning products on Palace Art Saturday.
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“The really cool thing is that we’ve brought more eco-friendly products to market,” Maurer said. “Solvents attack the bristles and cause them to dry out and damage over time. Plus, solvents usually have a strong odor. These eco-friendly products are odorless and also condition your brush. It’s like a two-in-one shampoo.”
Alden Knight, a professor of screen printing at Solano Community College, was on hand to show people at Palace Art Saturday how easy it can be to create designs and print them on paper. He pointed out that the best thing about screen printing is that you don’t have to have any special artistic talent.
“I don’t have to be as good at painting or drawing as these great artists here,” Knight said. “I feel like I can just hang out and make prints and be surrounded by artists.”
As many pointed out Saturday, you don’t have to consider yourself an artist to do something artistic, like Aptos resident Merry Treanor, who watched the celebration on Saturday.
“This location has been completely expanded and is really impressive,” Treanor said. “I’m not much of an artist, but I like to walk around and think about being creative. Right now I’m working on adult coloring books, which are great because you can just switch off, focus and not think about anything else.”
Crafty Capitola resident Jordan Berger has been stopping by Palace Art for about 10 years to pick up supplies for various projects, and to mark the 75th anniversary on Saturday, he browsed the shelves for materials to make chain mail and a pair of earrings.
“When I was a little kid, I was really into the Klutz books where they featured a new craft and I would get them as a gift every few months and pursue a new hobby. I still do that,” Berger said. “I like Palace because it’s on my way home and I like to shop local.”
The 75th anniversary celebrations will take place on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
When you go
What: Palace Art & Office Supply 75th Anniversary Celebration
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: 1501-K 41st Avenue, Capitola
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