Farewell, J. P.

8/9/12, Copic Multiliner SP pen, watercolor, Stillman & Birn sketchbook

Like many Seattleites who were kids in the ‘60s, I grew up watching J. P. Patches on KIRO-TV every afternoon and Saturday morning. My strongest memory of J. P. was an in-person appearance he made at some store opening. My family climbed into the car, and strangely enough, all the cars (rather than the people in them) lined up for seemingly hours around the store for the opportunity to see and shake hands with J. P. What a thrill to shake his gloved hand through the car window! Another memory is of my Brownie troop’s visit to his TV show, and since I wore my hair in braids, he gave them a tug (his obligatory greeting of any little girl with ponytails or braids).

When I heard that J. P. (AKA Chris Wedes) died a couple weeks ago, I decided that I would honor his memory (and all my fond memories of J. P.) by sketching the bronze statue (sculpted by Kevin Pettelle) in the Fremont neighborhood. I finally got out to the statue this morning. It was still festooned with flowers, cards and trinkets from his many fans.

Farewell, J. P.!