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| 6/24/22 J.P. Patches and Gertrude (sculptor: Kevin Pettelle), Fremont neighborhood |
As many times as I have sketched in the Fremont neighborhood,
I’m still always torn when I visit. On the one hand, Fremont is full of so many
beloved icons (the Troll, the Fremont Bridge, the topiary dinosaurs, to name just a few favorites that I’ve sketched multiple times)
that I never tire of sketching. But I also feel like I should branch out once
in a while and sketch something less iconic or at least previously unsketched.
Last Friday with USk Seattle, I couldn’t resist three icons, but at least I attempted
one new subject.
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The Saturn Building
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First up was the sculpture of J.P. Patches and Gertrude,
which I had not sketched since 2012, so I felt that a second sketch was long
overdue. Since I had initially sketched it from J.P.’s side, this time I
went around and took on Gertrude’s side. Probably only natives and long-time
locals are familiar with J.P. as the host of a live-broadcast children’s TV
program back in the ‘60s. Gertrude, J.P.’s sidekick and “girlfriend,” was
actually a man. (Who knew that a man in drag would host a children’s TV show?
Quite progressive for the ‘60s, even in Seattle!)
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| A water tower I hadn't sketched before |
As we both sketched the sculpture, I discovered that Paul is
also a Seattle native, so we chatted about all the local children’s TV shows we
had grown up with. He went to high school with Stan Boreson’s son! I
have had no such brush with fame, although my Brownies troop did appear on J.P.’s
show once.
Feeling happy and nostalgic, I made a couple of quick
thumbnail studies for my 30-day challenge: the Saturn Building, which I
had sketched only last month, and a water tower visible from the J.P. sculpture,
which I had not sketched before. There – something previously unsketched and
less iconic!
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| 6/24/22 Statue of Lenin |
The meetup location was the statue of Lenin, which I
have sketched several times. Although I wasn’t planning to sketch him again, I
had about 15 minutes to kill before the throwdown – just enough time for a small
portrait.
So the icons won again. It’s a losing battle in Fremont.
Just for fun, I’ve included below my first sketches of J.P.
(from 2012) and Lenin (from 2013).
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| 4/17/13 My first sketch of Lenin |
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| 8/9/12 My first sketch of J.P. and Gertrude |
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| My childhood hero, J.P. |
I'm glad you explained who these icons were. I wasn't familiar with them at all. I do think they looked pretty good dancing together. You had quite a productive day.
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