FISH LADDER TO THE STARS

This one’s my surreal take on a fish ladder, portrayed as an actual ladder composed of salmon climbing upwards to the stars. It’s a surreal, dreamlike image I’ve played with over the years with a positive, aspirational vibe to it. At least that’s what I’m hoping comes across. A rough sketch of this idea first appeared in my Planet Ocean book in 1993. In 2019 I drew a large version of the composition. Grace Freeman did the beautiful digital coloring.

The fish ladder on Ketchikan Creek is one of our town’s more popular spots with visitors. It’s a little hard to find and honestly a little underwhelming when you see it, especially when you realize that most of the spawning salmon don’t even use it. The city has plans in place to upgrade it so I’m hoping for the best.