On my regular walk to the post office, I pass by this alley and it never fails to catch my eye.

Well, technically, it's not an alley so much as a perpendicular glimpse into the alley and beyond. It strikes me as quintessentially Everett: a residence tucked in a place you least expect it, garbage bins next to a fine art sculpture, tall brick buildings threaded together with zig-zagging power lines. 

Alleyways are novel to me, since I grew up in a rural area. These in-between passageways exclusively belong to bikes, neighbors, garbage/recycle pickup, moving vans, and tiny garages with non-motorized doors, covered in morning glory vines.

The closer to downtown Everett one goes, the more developed these alleys become...secret promenades unto themselves. Apartments, bank drive-thrus, loading docks and even business storefronts discretely pepper the back corridors of our old city.  

Elizabeth is an Everett, Washington-based artist and graphic designer. Using pen and watercolor, she sketches from life and creates 'illustrative infographics,' often featuring Northwest themes.