A Sushi Sketch & My Creative Ramblings

I started a sushi sketch at the end of October. That was October of last year. In 2025, to be exact. My pencil sketch sat in the journal waiting for some attention. Around that time, I was getting ready to make the switch from pen & ink wash to watercolor painting. I thought it would be a great idea to have something sketched out and ready to go when the bug hit me.

Once again. I forgot to take a picture of my initial pencil sketch. Sorry about that. Here’s my watercolor painting still in the rough stages. I used my water brush to create this painting.

My approach to creating objects that have a lot of white is to paint them last. I tend to start with the most colorful objects like the Nigiri with the fish molded over the sushi rice. After painting with my orange and then my pink watercolors, the green is the next color for the avocado and the wasabi. Next I paint in the seaweed wraps mixing blue and Burnt Umber to get a dark gray color. For the rice, I use the same gray color and added a bit more blue. I also use this blue-gray color for the shadows.

Using my water brush, I can create lovely washes of color on my object. The bristles on my water brush stay consistently wet so I have no need to dip the brush into more water.

For my final layers of color, I switched to using my travel-sized watercolor brushes from Cheap Joe’s and added in the details to my painting. My regular paint brushes allow me to add deeper colors while using less water in my watercolor paint mix.

I mentioned I used my darker blue-gray color for my shadows. At this point, using the finer or smaller tipped paint brushes helped me control where the paint is applied and add the details where it’s needed. For the sushi rolls, I dabbled the paint on the sides to represent the grains of rice. I also added some shading to help the rolls look a bit rounded.

I’ve been using two different journals for my artwork. One for my pen & ink wash sketches and the other for my watercolor paintings. While my first love is using fountain pens and inks, I do enjoy using my watercolor paints. Each medium has a slightly different learning curve. Sometimes I have to pause when I shift gears and remember the different techniques that I personally use to create my artwork. I also create a lot of colorful test swatches before I get into creating my artwork.

Fountain Pen & Ink Wash

For my pen & ink medium, there is some maintenance and work involved. I have to fill my pens with ink. I prefer to use my fountain pens until the ink runs dry or close to empty. Sometimes, I choose to limit the number of inky colors that are in my pens at one time. For journal writing, three inky pens appear to be a good number to keep on my studio desk. Most of the time, the inky colors are my favorite inks to write with. This includes Robert Oster Blood Rose, Sydney Darling Harbour, Melon Tea, Candied Mint, Bless Your Heart, and Thunderstorm. Also, Colorverse Brane and Hayabusa. In the Van Deman’s colors that includes Morning Frost, Devil’s Kitchen, and Eucalyptus Regnans. Also I have to include KWZ/Galens Leather Prairie Green.

A few of my fountain pens used for sketching

I do choose basic colors like blue, green, pink, yellow, and brown. That way I have most of the colors that I might use to create a sketch and also have the same blue, green, and brown for writing in my journals.

When it’s time to fill my pens, there is some thought or plan/vision that I have in my head. The colors could be seasonal (spring flowers, summer vacation, fall colors, holidays) and that dictates what I might be sketching. I do find that using my fountain pens and inks take a bit more of my creative time and planning.

Watercolors

I do enjoy working with my watercolor paints. I enjoy the process of mixing colors to create the most interesting hues. Also, my palette and brushes are ready to go when the creativity pops its head. My watercolor tools are small enough to tuck inside any of my small art bags and easy to transport. If there’s an unusual color I need, no problem as I can mix my paint colors.