Doin’ the Pu. . .I Mean, the Washington

9/13/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor

The Seattle Urban Sketchers and the Tacoma Urban Sketchers stormed the gates this morning at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup for a joint ad hoc sketch gathering. (As a Seattle native who grew up “doin’ the Puyallup” every year, I can’t quite get used to calling it the “Washington State Fair.” It will always be “the Puyallup” to me.)

Last year at the fair, I did most of my sketching inside the animal barns. Today I still sketched several chicks, a goat, a couple of alpacas and, oddly enough, a tiny white pony that had been painted partially pink (the tint I have on my sketch below is probably the most accurate color I captured today). But on this visit, I also wanted to spend some time sketching larger views of the fair.

9/13/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor

My first stop was SillyVille, where the kiddie rides hadn’t yet opened – score! Being able to sketch the merry-go-round and Ferris wheel while they weren’t moving was an excellent coup on my part! Once the rides opened, I could easily toss a kid on a horse.

After lunch with Kate and Peggy (during which we shared the biggest, greasiest pile of curly fries any of us had ever seen; my arteries clogged just looking at them), I wandered over to the new Luminasia attraction, a “larger-than-life lantern festival” produced by a Chinese company. At an additional cost of $12, it didn’t interest me much, especially since it’s best seen at night. But what attracted my attention was the fake Space Needle hovering in the background and the Alice-in-Wonderland-sized daffodils greeting the people lined up to get in.

9/13/13 Diamine Eclipse ink, Zig marker

I’ll tell you what struck me as the most unusual thing about the fair: The number of people whose attention I attracted! I’m so used to sketching in the middle of public scenes and getting ignored by everyone. Today all my sketches took longer because so many people stopped to look and chat. I guess the fair is where you go to see something new.

9/13/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink

9/13/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink

9/13/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink