Art Masterpiece-The Great Wave at Kanagawa (from a Series
of Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji) by Katsushika Hokusai
Pronunciation: Cat-soo-she-kah Ho-koo-sigh
Keywords: Contrast, focal point, Perspective, Print,
Texture, Vantage Point, Woodcut
Contrast: a large difference between two things; for example, warm and cool; yellow
and purple; light and shadow. Contrasting values, colors and textures add excitement,
emphasis and interest to a work of art.
Focal point: the most important part or area in a work of art.
Perspective: A technique used to represent 3-dimensional scenes or objects on a flat,
2-dimensional surface. This is achieved by creating an illusion of depth and distance.
Print: a kind of artwork in which ink or paint is put onto a block (wood, linoleum, etc.)
which has a design carved into it. The block is then pressed onto paper to make a print
(copy) of the design.
Texture: an element of art. The way an object looks as though it feels, such as rough
or smooth.
Vantage Point: The place the artist seems to have been standing as he/she created
the work of art.
Woodcut: wooden surface on which a picture or design has been cut to form a relief
used for printing.
Activity: Print Making
Meet the Artist: (5 min)
*He was born in Edo, Japan in 1760, before the United States had achieved
independence.
*His family was poor and he was apprenticed to a woodblock engraver. Eventually,
he was thrown out because he was too talented. He then went to work doing drawings
and selling them on the streets just to make enough food to eat. He started to draw for
comic books, making banners, designing greeting cards and illustrating books for the
wealthy. Eventually, he married and had children.
*Although changing names was a Japanese custom, he changed his over 30 times.
Hokusai is the name he kept the longest. The name Hokusai means “Star of the
Northern Constellation”.
*He hated cleaning. So, when it became too dirty to work where he was, he just
simply moved. He moved himself and his family a total of 93 times!
*He was so talented he could draw birds in flight on a single grain of rice. He also was a
showman and would do shows by painting while he was hanging upside down or with his
feet in front of an audience.
*He was well known for his landscape paintings. But much of his work was woodblock
printing. (Woodblock prints are created when the artists carves their subject into a
wooden surface and uses that surface as a relief for printing.)
*Hokusai didn’t start his most famous works until he was 68!
*He painted a series, 36 views of Mt Fuji. It was published around 1830, This was an
exercise in perspective to him, using landscape as a way to show it. He painted the
same mountain over and over again. You can see Mt. Fuji in the background of The
Great Wave, which is also a wood block print.
*Eventually, he painted over 30,000 pieces of art. He lived to 89, dying in 1849. His
final name was Gwakio Rojin, meaning “old man mad about drawing”.
Discussion: (10 min)
*What’s going on in this picture? Does it tell a story?
*What is the vantage point of this painting? (The vantage point is where you think
the artist seems to have been standing when the art was created. (from the sea
looking toward land.)
*Why do you think he chose Mt. Fuji to paint 36 times? (It was a sacred
mountain to the Japanese people)
*Contrast in art is where there is a big difference between two things. Where do you
see contrast in this painting? (color, texture, value) How does the contrast enhance the
painting (builds excitement)
*Is there movement in this painting?
*Is there good balance in this painting?
*What is the focal point in the painting? How does that artist draw our
eyes to this point? (Direct center of artwork)
*What is the difference between a drawing and a wood block print? (drawing verses
etching)
Activity: Foam Relief Print Making
Supplies Needed:
Scratch-Foam Sheets-1 per student
2 Brayers (rollers)
mixing trays to put paint in
Plastic spoons ( used to evenly press paper to foam "woodblock")
Paint ( Blue, Green)
5 x 7” drawing paper- 2 per student
9x 11” black construction paper for mounting (final project will have a large mounted
border)
Scrap paper
Small squares ( 2" x 2") of Styrofoam (1/student)
one larger piece of styrofoam (4 x 6”)
Red ink pad or paint
Pencils or pointed sticks to create images
Tape
6-8 bottles of glue
Newspapers
Advance Preparation:
Cut styrofoam into 2 x 2” squares so there is enough for one per student. Cut white
drawing paper to 5 x 7”-2 sheets per student. Cut black mounting paper to 9x 11”. Save
the black scraps for future projects.
Project: (30-40min)
1. To set up for this activity, pre-fill the mixing trays with paint & Set a Brayer (black
rolling-pin looking tool) next to each color. Drawing papers should be set up in this area
also. This should be set up in a central location, as it will be shared. You will need to
pay close attention to time here to allow time for all students to finish their prints as
they need to share paint/brayers.
2. Have students begin by sketching a landscape scene (Mountain, Waterfall, Waves
etc…)
onto a piece of drawing paper. Remind them to keep their pictures large, they should
try to fill the whole paper, but the shapes also need to be large, DO NOT use a lot of
small details. Keep scenes simple!
3. When their sketch is completed they should try to reproduce it onto the foam (our
version of a woodblock!)- they may lay the paper on top of the foam and use pencils or
the sticks to trace around the major parts of their scene to get the general shape onto
the foam.
4. Add detail to their "Woodblock". To ensure that the print is clear, be sure that they
are pressing hard into the foam sheets so that the lines are relatively deep and wide
without poking through.
5. Bring their "Woodblock" to the paint area. They are to choose one color of paint
(either blue or green) and lightly dip the brayer into the paint. They will evenly roll the
brayer over their "woodblock" to cover with paint. It is very important that they don't
put too much paint on the brayer or it will fill in their lines. If too much paint get on the
brayer, simply roll it on a piece of newspaper first to get some of the paint off, then roll
it on the foam.
6. Lay a sheet of paper on top of the "woodblock", centering the print in the middle of
the paper, creating a natural border, and evenly press down on the paper to make a print.
They may wish to use the "White spoons" to smooth their paper over the "woodblock".
7. Gently peel back the foam sheet to reveal the print. The paint should not have made
contact with the paper where they traced the lines. This will produce a negative image
of their woodblock.
8. Set aside to dry.
9. While the painting is drying, they shall begin their Seals. Point out to them the Red
Seal which Hokusai used on the bottom of the work. Seals are used in these Japanese
pieces to identify the artist.
9. Taking the 2 by 2 inch square foam, the students will write their initials in the foam,
backwards. They also may write a small design to signify their work. - REMEMBER,
THEY WILL NEED TO WRITE THEIR LETTERS IN REVERSE SO IT PRINTS
PROPERLY! Remind them that they not only need to have their letters facing the
opposite way, but they will have their first initial on the right and their last initial on the
left. They can practice this by writing their initials backward then fliping the paper
over and holding it up to the light. If their initials are facing the right way, they have
done it correctly.
10. It is easiest to dip these into the inkpad if they use a folded piece of tape on the
back of the seal as a handle. They should press their square seal into the red inkpad and
try out their seal on their scrap paper. Once they are happy with the design they may
press the seal onto their paintings (easiest to do on the border of the paper, as the
paint is probably not completely dry at this point!), being sure to press hard enough so all
of the ink is transferred and the seal appears as a red square with a white pattern
within it.
12. They may sign their first names on the front of the finished piece if desired.
13. Mount the final masterpiece on the black construction paper.