State Fair - Sketching Experience #2

Today, I went to the State Fair to sketch, sketch, sketch with me, myself and I. Given that it was rainy and early when I arrived, the grounds were mostly empty. At 9:30, I met up with a group of sketchers, since it was the first of the two Minnesota State Fair Sketch Together gatherings, organized by one of the Urban Sketchers in the Twin Cities. People were friendly and the organizer had buttons for everyone! When the group broke up to go and sketch, I headed to the swine barn.

This is my favorite sketch and it was a good way to approach sketching at the fair. Draw, use plumb lines, and show the refinements that represent the truer dimensions. I did not have enough room on my paper to correct the snout. It should have been a bit longer.  While I was working on this sketch, it was just me and the pig. All the rest of the hustle and bustle and noise of the barn faded away. I was "drawn" to this pig because of the way his ear was flopped over.

I would like to figure out  how to sketch items smaller, but things really get wonky when I try that.

What surprised me was that I was mentally exhausted after actively sketching a little more than 2 hours.This estimated time did not include the time I took breaks. While I wasn't planning on staying until the 4:30 post-sketching meet-up, I was planning on sketching for 1/2 day or so. I briefly switched to sheep to see if that would help. It didn't. My brain was done and so was I. I went home earlier than expected and took a lovely nap.