Saturday at Pike Place Market on WW Sketch Crawl Day

 Waiting for the elevator on the 4th floor at Pike Place Market parking garage.

It's the 51st World Wide Sketch Crawl Day and I'm meeting the Seattle Urban Sketchers up on the main level, outside by Rachel the pig.

A fishmonger shouts and a 30 pound salmon flies through the air across a mountain of ice and is deftly caught by the man behind the counter. A semicircle of onlookers holds cameras and smart phones overhead, capturing the spectacle. 

I had to sketch the "flying fish" action in increments: the hands and fish, the face, the swirl of the white lab coat.

The scent of fresh, hot sticky buns swirls in the air as a man in a silver white ponytail and a floppy hat rolls up his sleeves. He flicks his hands with a flourish and plays modern classical music at his piano on wheels.

Across the street a wide shadowy freight doorway reveals a technicolor display of spring flowers. A flower vendor's head seems to float among fragrant bouquets wrapped in white paper.

After sharing our sketches in the atrium and getting a group photo outside by the newsstand, some of us sketched our way through lunch at the Sound View Cafe. 

Upper right: Marvin and Tina sketching at lunch

We had our choice of all our typical Pacific Northwest seafood; salmon chowder, clam chowder, barbecued salmon, or the seafood pasta  extravaganza. The pasta extravaganza has king salmon, tiger prawns, halibut, crab meat pan sautéed and served over pasta with choice of marina, pesto or alfredo sauce PLUS soup and salad bar! Tempting, I know, but I wanted to stay sharp for more sketching in the afternoon. As you see, the barbecued salmon sandwich was quite sufficient. I'm having the other half for lunch tomorrow.

Adding the final sketches of the day to my accordion sketchbook over thick hot aromatic Turkish coffee.

I would say that Seattle provides more than enough inspiration to last all the way through this 51st World Wide Sketch Crawl Day.

Wait. Did I see that fish move?

While I was sketching the Pike Place Fish Market, I caught a practical joke in the making. One of the fishmongers hooked a long golden chain to the monkfish, then disguised it with a pile of ice and more fish. Unsuspecting victims got a jolt when they came in for a closer look.