daydreams SI: Happy Sushi

For this sustained investigation (SI) I am exploring how I can capture what I daydream about using watercolors.

For this painting I was making an archetypal sushi restaurant. It needed a catchy neon sign, an iconic name and an inviting atmosphere for a dark dreary night. I used a mix of watercolor and gouache and a pilot G-2 to crisp up the image. I started off with washes of color to create the overall atmosphere and slowly loaded details on. one thing I experimented with was making the light look like neon by adding white gouache in the middle.

I used line to create contrast emphasis and unity. I used color to create contrast and emphasis. I used value to create atmosphere.

There isn't to much story her more of an atmosphere. I can imagine walking down a dark dreary street and seeing this restaurant all lit up and happy looking and going in for some good dinner. This project relates to me because I like sushi and I recently started making it. I'm proudest of how cohesive the whole painting feels. everything fits together composition and color wise, and I added some details I like alot. I struggled with making the signs glow. I just had to let the paint dry before adding more layers to get the glow I was lookin' for.