The honor rack dispensing copies of The Leader outside Better Living Through Coffee in downtown Port Townsend will soon have a new look. In place of the typical blue rack with the Leader logo will be one adorned with bright colors and shapes painted by local artist Mike Biskup, who explores themes of diversity and unity in a graphic style. This honor rack (newspaper jargon that declares the premise that newspaper buyers are so honorable as to liberate only the one paper paid for with the coins it takes to open the door), is just the first of many Leader racks headed for a makeover. More than 15 local artists are slated to paint other racks across Jefferson County, according to Leader publisher Lloyd Mullen. Mullen said that while walking around town, he became tired of the blue boxes with the Leader logo and figured they should match the artistic community they sit in. He contacted the Port Townsend School of the Arts with an idea to have local artists paint the racks, which then shared the opportunity with community artists. Biskup was the first artist to respond to the call. Over two long evenings, he set to work covering the rack from top to bottom in his abstract style. He usually works with watercolor and paper, and found painting on metal with acrylic pen to be “a bit difficult,” especially since two of the pens broke in the process. Nevertheless, he is happy with the result, and said the piece, despite the unfamiliar medium, is representative of his work. Biskup is happy to have an opportunity to showcase his art in public, while Mullen sees this project as “adding to Jefferson County in an artistic way.” “This is a way of beautifying the area,” Mullen said.