Tag Archives: shikiori

April, in Dinners

Dinners Only

The last food diary post took me through April 6th. Then April happened.

It wasn’t a bad month exactly, but it was a rocky one with symptoms flaring, energy unreliable, the kind of month where keeping up with a daily sketchbook practice just wasn’t in the cards. I kept eating dinner. I just wasn’t drawing it.

So yesterday I sat down with my phone, pulled up my photos, and drew twenty-six days of dinners in one go. Two and a half hours with the Shikiori markers, then another fifty minutes going back over everything with water to activate the color. I do love the blooms that activating watercolor markers can generate! Five pages. April 7th through May 3rd, all in one long, slightly meditative catch-up session.

Three days of food diary sketches in a Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook, drawn in Shikiori markers with watercolor activation. April 7 shows BBQ chips, peanut butter cups, and quesadillas. April 8 shows more chips,sedanini with spinach and a quesadilla with enchilada sauce. April 9 shows a flying avocado, a fruit cup, and lemon cake.
April 7–9, 2026 — Food Diary catch-up — Stillman & Birn Delta

I’ve done dinners-only before, back in 2022, but not since. The logic is the same now as it was then: breakfast and lunch don’t vary enough to sketch, and if something in my diet is causing a flare, it’s almost certainly lurking in dinner. The food diary is part creative practice, part detective work.

Drawing from photos all at once gave the pages a consistency I don’t usually get from in-the-moment sketching. Same hand, same markers, same energy — everything has a kind of visual unity that I actually like. It’s a different flow from the day-by-day record, but it’s still a record.

Five days of food diary sketches in a Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook, drawn in Shikiori markers with watercolor activation. April 10 shows banana, quesadilla, and a Ciao sparkling water. April 11 shows quesadilla with enchilada sauce. April 12 shows a glow bowl, lemon cake, and lemonade. April 13 shows applewood cheddar with crackers and red bean chili. April 14 shows cherry tomatoes, chocolate cookies, and cheddar crackers with vegan bacon.
April 10–14, 2026 — Food Diary catch-up — Stillman & Birn Delta

Highlights and lowlights, in no particular order.

April 9th has a flying avocado, a fruit cup, and lemon cake, and I’m pleased with how cheerful it came out. April 12th’s glow bowl is one of the better-looking plates in the whole run. The cheesy lemon spaghetti on April 18th was delicious and the sketch knows it.

Six days of food diary sketches in a Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook, drawn in Shikiori markers with watercolor activation. Dates run April 15 through April 20, with meals including a Leafside creamy mushroom bowl, cherry tomatoes, a peanut butter sandwich cookie plate, cheesy lemon spaghetti, and carrot cake. A hand-lettered box reading DINNERS ONLY appears on the right-hand page.
April 15–20, 2026 — Food Diary catch-up — Stillman & Birn Delta

The DINNERS ONLY box that appears mid-April — I lettered it right there on the page as a label to remind myself I did still eat lunches! It has a slightly resigned, slightly determined energy that I feel captures the month accurately.

Seven days of food diary sketches in a Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook, drawn in Shikiori markers with watercolor activation. Dates run April 21 through April 27, with meals including Greek bowtie pasta with cheese, a small bowl of Giggles candy, cherry tomatoes, quesadillas with salsa, dolmas with tomatoes and carrots, Mexican wedding cookies, spaghetti marinara, and carrot cake with a glow bowl.
April 21–27, 2026 — Food Diary catch-up — Stillman & Birn Delta

And then there’s the quesadilla. It shows up nine times. Nine. Quesadilla with enchilada sauce, quesadilla with salsa, quesadilla solo, quesadilla as a supporting player. It has practically become a character in this sketchbook. My Whoop has been giving me pointed looks about it. I asked about my poor sleep, and the theory offered is that a high fat and high carb dinner combination might be doing my sleep no favors. I did not buy tortillas on my last shopping trip. Let’s test this theory and see what happens. (But what will I eat on high brain fog, low energy days?)

Seven days of food diary sketches in a Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook, drawn in Shikiori markers with watercolor activation. Dates run April 28 through May 3, with meals including quesadillas with salsa, avocado, cherry chocolate walnut dessert, hummus with dolmas and rice stackers, hemp cheese and bean burgers, crackers with vegan bacon and tomatoes, carrot cake with a glow bowl, and spaghetti marinara.
April 28–May 3, 2026 — Food Diary catch-up — Stillman & Birn Delta

This also concludes the small Delta Sketchbook that is my 29th sketchbook and my 6th food volume.

The featured image up top is from the April 21st spread — Greek bowtie pasta, and a little bowl of Giggles (allergen-friendly candy, think Skittles) with those bright confetti dot colors. It’s one of my favorites from the whole batch. Twenty-six dinners, one sitting, five pages. The record exists. On to May. Without my go to quesadillas!

Cherries, Icing, and Feeling Poorly

Time for a catch-up post on the food diary. I’m still using the Shikiori markers. Four days, four very different spreads, and a peek into what happens when I sketch under varying degrees of brain function.

First, the errata page.

A double page spread in a Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook labeled Errata in bold lettering with a red heart on the left page. Loose watercolor sketches of deep red Amareno cherries are scattered across the left page with handwritten notes about forgotten food entries. The right page shows a detailed sketch of a Miss Jones cream cheese icing container in green and red, with handwritten cost and nutrition data. Dated Friday 3 April 2026.
Friday 3 April 2026 — Errata — Stillman & Birn Delta

I forgot to log the Amareno cherries I ate by the spoonful while cooking lunch. Those deep jewel reds were so fun to paint, and drawing bigger than usual suited them. The Miss Jones cream cheese icing on the right got its own sketch too, because apparently I also ate several spoonfuls of that while making dinner. I have regrets. I suspect the extra sugar gets my heart going. And yes, for mysterious reasons I have been bingeing more sugar lately. Trying to rein that in.

A double page food diary spread dated Saturday 4 April 2026. A lineup of food items sits along a deep purple watercolor horizon wash. Left to right: a dark chocolate bar and blue-lidded container, a tall green sparkling water bottle, a Miss Jones cream cheese jar in green and red, a golden bowl of red lentil pasta with spinach, a second green sparkling water bottle, a small bowl with a Ciao cherry sparkling water can, and a large golden oval plate with teriyaki pulled pork, jasmine rice, and zucchini noodles. Handwritten food names, costs, and nutrition totals below.
Saturday 4 April 2026 — Food Sketch in Stillman & Birn Delta

Saturday was a proper cooking day with teriyaki vegan pulled pork, jasmine rice, and zucchini noodles. It was very good and I was pleased with the sketch. I did this day’s sketches in the moment! My sunflower plate with the purple shadow wash underneath is one of my favorite things I’ve painted in this book so far. (And I didn’t forget to include the rest of the icing I finished off on the second day of it being open!)

A double page food diary spread dated Sunday 5 April 2026. A loose watercolor lineup of food items stretches across both pages along a soft blue-grey horizon wash. Items include a pink sparkling water bottle, dark chocolate, a red lentil pasta bowl, a Summer Strawberry sparkling water bottle, two halves of a bento box — one with dolmas, baby carrots, hummus and herb garlic cheese, the other with cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives — followed by a plate of salmon with roasted vegetables and mac and cheese, lemon olive oil cake muffins, and a lemonade. Handwritten food names and nutrition data in the lower left. Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook.
Sunday 5 April 2026 — Food Sketches Stillman & Birn Delta

Sunday was a big food day. Bento box with dolmas, baby carrots, hummus and herb garlic cheese (vegan) in one half, cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives in the other, then salmon with roasted vegetables and mac and cheese for dinner, finished off with lemon olive oil cake muffins and a lemonade. It looks like a cheerful parade of colorful shapes across the page, which is exactly what it was. 

A double page food diary spread dated Monday 6 April 2026. Loose, expressive watercolor shapes sit against a broad green wash background. A pink heart doodle appears in the upper left corner. Items left to right include dark chocolate, sparkling water, trail mix, a red lentil pasta bowl with spinach, a quesadilla with enchilada sauce, and sparkling water. A handwritten food and cost summary box on the right is labeled "Feeling Poorly." Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook.
Monday 6 April 2026 — Feeling Poorly Food Sketches Stillman & Birn Delta

And then Monday. I was not feeling well, and it shows. The whole spread went down in a loose green wash and I forgot to sketch the cookies entirely. The little pink heart in the corner was doing its best. Some days the diary is a beautiful detailed record, and some days it’s an honest green blob. That I’m keeping up is a miracle, when the bad brain hits. I blame the sugar and the allergens I had eating out on Sunday. Which is the whole reason I like to sketch my food, so it’s easier to find the culprits, when the body crashes or outbreaks or flares up days later. 

Beautiful Mess: Color Swatches and Ink Tests

Before I put my handmade paper ink swooshes into the portfolio book, I wanted to use the backs of the cards. Can’t have blank paper! What’s the fun in that? Plus the chromatography aspect is so much fun, and what would happen if I had more paper to work with for a larger separation potential?

So I did what had to be done. I made a mess. A beautiful, atmospheric, very satisfying mess. I even had water and ink dripping off the page! 

A full page chromatography study on handmade deckle-edge cotton watercolor paper. Robert Oster Australian Opal Mauve floods the page in deep violet and plum tones, with a luminous soft pink and white centre where the ink has separated and travelled outward. The fibrous texture of the handmade paper creates a dramatic, organic surface.
Robert Oster Australian Opal Mauve on Leather Village Handmade Cotton Watercolor Paper
A full page chromatography study on handmade deckle-edge cotton watercolor paper. Robert Oster Graphite floods the page in deep near-black tones with a dramatic teal and pink separation visible throughout. A luminous white and pale pink centre glows through the dark ink. The fibrous texture of the handmade paper creates a wild, unpredictable surface.
Robert Oster Graphite on Leather Village Handmade Cotton Watercolor Paper.

Robert Oster Graphite was one of my favorites from the chromatography lesson I posted about recently. That deep complex near-black opens up into the most beautiful teal and rose separation in the lighter areas. It looks like a nebula. I’m a little bit in love with it.

Then I wanted to see what this particular handmade paper does with some of my granulating watercolors. Granulating watercolors behave very differently depending on the paper. how much separation the pigments have causing that elusive “watercolor magic.” This handmade paper is cotton, and it does a very good job of having very even washes once it is dry. So watercolor magic? Not so much. 

The granulation is visible, but the paper holds the pigments fairly close together rather than letting them really spread and separate. It’s a quieter, more even look. Perfect when you want smooth washes. 

Two rectangular ink washes on handmade paper with deckled edges, photographed against a black background. The upper swatch shows Roman Szmal Lava, a deep muted purple-brown with visible granulation texture across the surface. The lower swatch shows Roman Szmal The Tint, a soft warm peachy cream, smooth and even. Both ink names handwritten below their respective swatches.
Roman Szmal Lava and The Tint — handmade paper test

I’m loving that Roman Szmal Lava in particular. I’m looking forward to using it a lot more. That dark reddish color, and it has lovely granulation on different paper. 

I tested The Tint alongside it, to sample how pink versus yellow is it on this paper. A nice striking pair on the page.

Two rectangular paint swatches on handmade paper with deckled edges. The upper swatch shows Gansai Tambi Cosmic Olive, a soft muted yellow-green with subtle granulation and gentle vertical streaking as the wash dried. The lower swatch shows Ecoline 416 Brush Pen Sepia, a rich warm brown with visible texture and slight mottling across the surface. Both names handwritten below their respective swatches.
Gansai Tambi Cosmic Olive and Ecoline 416 Brush Pen Sepia — handmade paper test

The Cosmic Olive did not separate nearly as much as it does on other papers, and the Ecoline 416 Sepia marker turned out surprising flat. I expected more blooming when I added water.

In the food sketchbook, the Delta, I’ve been using the Shikiori markers to sketch my food, so it was time to do a full color chart. Beautiful colors and they react strongly to water. I love that. 

A double page spread showing a full color swatch reference chart for Sailor Shikiori markers, with each color labeled in handwriting. Left page includes Doyou, Chushu, Rikyucha, Tokiwamatsu, Neosumire, Shimoyo, Miruai, Wakauguisu, Shigure, Fujisugata, Yozakura, and Sakuramori. Right page includes Kinmokusei, Yodaki, Okuyama, Irori, Yamadori, Souten, Yukiakari, and Yonaga. The swatches show the full range from deep browns and greens through purples, pinks, reds, oranges, and blues.
Sailor Shikiori Markers — full color swatch reference

The Shikiori markers do something I find absolutely lovely, add water and they bloom outward in that soft, spreading way that reminds me of how Faber-Castell watercolor markers behave. Very satisfying, very painterly. It’s easy to make a lovely watery mess, and I adore that. The Delta paper the results were clean and bright, and holds up well to markers and lots of water.

The Shikiori line takes its name from 四季織 — shikiori — meaning “weaving of the four seasons,” and the color names live up to that. They’re all Japanese seasonal and nature words, and I think they’re worth listing out properly because they’re just so beautiful:

Doyou — midsummer · Chushu — mid-autumn · Rikyucha — tea-brown, named for the tea master Sen no Rikyū · Tokiwamatsu — evergreen pine · Neosumire — sleeping violet · Shimoyo — frosty night · Miruai — meeting of seaweed · Wakauguisu — young bush warbler · Shigure — autumn rain shower · Fujisugata — shape of Mount Fuji · Yozakura — night cherry blossoms · Sakuramori — cherry blossom grove · Kinmokusei — osmanthus flower · Yodaki— night waterfall · Okuyama — deep mountain · Irori — hearth fire · Yamadori — copper pheasant · Souten — blue sky · Yukiakari — snow light · Yonaga — long night

Such beautiful and inspiring names!

Food in Shikiori

Food in Shikiori

I did not plan to start another food sketchbook so soon. I said at the end of the last one that I’d be folding food sketching into my regular daily sketchbook going forward. But then I didn’t. Ha! I grabbed this Delta thinking it has fewer pages, and would be great for March. Also, tracking my allergens is genuinely easier in a dedicated book, and here we are. Food Sketchbook No. 6.

This one is a Stillman & Birn Delta, softcover, 5.5 × 3.5 inches, 270gsm cold press in ivory. I’ve tried the Delta paper before, one year ago exactly! I did not love it for watercolor. However, for ink it’s been great. Very wet ink washes with loads of water, it doesn’t even buckle!

I book started on March 9th, intending to keep going through the month. But then those allergens hit, and I only got two days done. Both are done in Shikiori markers, because I was thinking markers would be fast and I was worried about not keeping up.

Watercolor food sketch on a double page spread, Monday 9 March 2026. Individual food portraits include dark chocolate, trail mix, a large green plate of yellow pasta with vegetables, cherry tomatoes on the vine, and a bean burger on a green plate. Handwritten food names, costs, and nutrition data fill the margins. Sailor Shikiori markers.
Monday 9 March 2026 — Food Diary in Sailor Shikiori markers
Watercolor food sketch on a double page spread, Tuesday 10 March 2026. On the left, pumpkin granola in a red bowl, dark chocolate, a green oval, and a large plate of red lentil sedanini with green beans in cheesy buffalo sauce. On the right, spaghetti marinara with a bean burger, and a large trail mix bowl in a red-rimmed dish. Handwritten food labels and a nutrition and cost summary box. Sailor Shikiori markers.spaghetti marinara with a bean burger, and a large trail mix bowl in a red-rimmed dish.
Tuesday 10 March 2026 Food diary in Sailor Shikiori markers

These are Sailor Shikiori markers. Japanese brush markers that take water beautifully. I do love that watery look. I had used Faber-Castell watercolor markers for food a few years ago and loved how they looked. I had these close by, so they were the obvious choice when I started this new book, hoping using marker would be a fast and easy method.

I got two days in. Once almost three weeks has passed, I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch-up, so I decided to jump in with my birthday. But I also knew I needed a fast method this busy week. One of my favorite sketches previously was a monochrome silhouette style, but I couldn’t remember if I’d done it in the 023 ink, or the Doyou ink. Obviously this means I had to both this week!

A fast way to record, and then the fun comes in the lovely ink washes as the dark lines are diluted.

Ink wash food diary spread on a double page, Monday 30 March 2026. Food items rendered as purple silhouettes along a horizon line, with "Happy Birthday" lettered in the center. Handwritten food names and costs below, including dark chocolate, Mexican wedding cookies, sparkling water, red lentil pasta bowl, glow bowl, lemonade, lemon olive oil cake, and baby brie peanut butter cups. Sailor 023 Shikiori marker.
Monday 30 March 2026 Food Diary in Shikiori marker 023.
Ink wash food diary spread on a double page, Tuesday 31 March 2026. Food items rendered as warm reddish-brown silhouettes along a horizon line, including dark chocolate, Biggles, red lentil pasta bowl, lemonade, lemon cake, poke bowl, and cherry tomatoes. Handwritten food names and costs below. Sailor Doyou Shikiori marker.
Tuesday 31 March 2026 Food Diary in Shikiori marker Doyou.

The 023 has the deeper purple undertones, while the Doyou leans toward the browns. Both work beautifully in the silhouette format, and the way the marker ink blooms into the wet wash below is very much what I was going for here.

Ink wash food diary spread on a double page, Wednesday 1 April 2026. Food items rendered as near-black silhouettes against a deep blue-violet pooling wash below, including dark chocolate, sparkling water, red lentil pasta bowl, sparkling water, rice with carrots and pulled pork teriyaki, and sparkling water. Handwritten food names and costs. Diamine Good Tidings ink.
Wednesday 1 April 2026 Food Diary in Diamine Good Tidings Ink wash.

I wanted to keep going with the black inks, and I had the Diamine Good Tidings nearby. I really need to write the inks higher on the page, because doing it near the margin, they get cut off when I scan! I loved the color bleed on this ink so much!

I remembered the Udemy course on fountain pen ink art by Nick Stewart that I’d dabbled with back in January — specifically his chromatography exercises, which are all about how inks separate and bloom when water is introduced. That’s exactly what was happening in these food spreads. One of the inks he uses in that course is Noodler’s Rome Burning, so I knew what ink I was going to do next!

Ink wash food diary spread on a double page, Thursday 2 April 2026. Food items rendered as warm golden-brown silhouettes along a horizon line, with a yellow ink wash below. Items include dark chocolate, sparkling water, red lentil pasta bowl, Ciao, poke bowl, summer strawberry water, lemon cake, and trail mix. A bright yellow element appears on the right side. Handwritten food names and costs. Noodler's Rome Burning ink.
Thursday 2 April 2026 Food Diary in Noodler’s Rome Burning Ink wash
Ink wash food diary spread on a double page, Friday 3 April 2026. Food items rendered as deep plum-grey silhouettes along a horizon line, with a soft blue-violet blooming wash below. Items include dark chocolate, red lentil pasta bowl, Ciao, sparkling water, quesadilla with enchilada sauce, sparkling water, trail mix, and sparkling water. Handwritten food names and costs. Robert Oster Graphite ink.
Friday 3 April 2026 Food Diary in Robert Oster Graphite Ink wash

The Robert Oster Graphite is also used in Nick Stewart’s course, and I can see why! Look at those colors! Deep plum-to-grey shift with the blue bloom and pink undertones in the wash is doing a lot of atmospheric work for what is essentially a record of sparkling water and a quesadilla.

From Shikiori markers to fountain pen inks. Now I’m energized to get back to the exercises in that Udemy course, and see what these inks can do!

New Sketches in a Limited Palette

Finally, a new pair of sketches! I was heading out, and I brought my sketchbook with me. In order to get back into the swing of things, I thought I could try to push to just draw something every day. The May challenge in the Liz Steel Patreon this month is a limited palette, I decided to go pretty extreme with it, and I brought with me only two pens.

I drew the flowers on the table with just two colors of pen. These are Sailor Shikiori Dual Sided pens in colors Doyou, and Waka-Uguisu. To get the pale washes I used a palette, and a water brush, scribbling with the pen onto the palette to make a small pool of ink. I did the full sketch on location, and only did the faded background once I got home, since the white petals needed a background to show up.

My second sketch was of my grocery bags. With costs rising, I like to have some sort of record, and grocery sketches are a fun way to do that, and still get a sketch in!