Quest for Art Supplies in Taipei

I've been in Taipei for a month now. I arrived without art supplies, reasoning that part of the art experience here would be finding inspiration and materials in my new city. Early on I discovered a modest selection of art supplies at a fancy bookstore chain and I nabbed up some watercolor pencils and paper. I hammered out a small series of abstract landscapes. But I didn't feel like the watercolor pencils alone were a fit for me. So off trekking I went, to find a real, bonafide art store. I had been told art stores abound near the Guting subway station, so I began my search there. And it wasn't long before I stumbled upon my first real art store in Taipei. It was cramped and stocked to the gills with every wonderful thing an artist could want. In addition to all the standard art fare was loads of inspiration. There is something magical and marvelous about art stores. The possibilities, the tubes of paint, the various sized and shaped brushes, all call to me with their own siren's song. An art store is a place I can lose myself, relishing the inspiration and endless creativity that is stoked in me. It is a place where I feel at home, even in a foreign land, despite any language barrier. I restrained my purchase to three brushes, gouache paint (a new media for me!) and some nice paper, so that I would have plentiful reasons to return to browse and buy inks and other supplies. It is a field trip I plan to make often.