have students turn in blue markers and give them a Sharpie, have them return the Sharpie to you and get their blue markers to draw when students are done outlining with black You can check to make sure they have covered most of the paper and pass out a when they are done, have them raise their hand so have students look at the Hokusai print and draw pass out paper to each student and have them put Last step is to paint the top of the waves with white tempera paint. Explain that a watercolor wash gives a light coat of color to an area, Or brown and washed the sky in watercolor. You were done with markers you moved onto using the liquid watercolor in yellow You start with blue and purple markers to make lines inside your waves to You finish your pencil drawing you use a black Sharpie to outline your Paper horizontally and while looking at print, draw waves on their paper.

The steps they will use in making this art project. Ask students what they see in the print? Students usually miss the boats.Ībout the time it must have taken for him to carve this picture out of a wood Show students print and explain backgroundīehind woodblock printing and the artist Hokusai.It helps ensure the feeling of harmony in nature that this picture exhibits.ĩ x 12 white construction paper per student Finally, Hokusai creates a yin and yang to the overall composition, reinforcing the balance of positive and negative, active and passive, the necessity of opposing forces in the world, and how things are interconnected.

The eternal and still form of the mountain provides hope and peace that all will be well with fishermen against the raging powers of the waters. Even though the wave dwarfs the mountain in the picture, the mountain provides the composition with a firm stability. It is also an active volcano (though it has not erupted since 1708), so believers in Buddhism and Shinto feel that the mountain's spirit is strong. Mount Fuji is the largest mountain in Japan, and serves as a sort of symbol for a country that honors nature. This, along with its larger scale, gives it strength of focus. The great wave at left, however, is NOT repeated. The white dots of spray from the wave also echo the heads of the fishermen. The shades of blue are nicely distributed throughout the image. Because the mountain is so small in comparison, it adds to the sense of size of the wave (which is a bit scary and threatening), and to the distance the boats are from shore (which is also a bit scary). The overlapping and relative placement of these boats also serves to create a sense of depth and distance. The boats are repeated three times, following similar lines as the waves. Can the students identify any of these repeating forms? For example, the white caps of the waves mimic the snow on Mt.

He uses the repetition of many elements, including shape, color, textures and patterns. Hokusai creates a strong graphic impact through his careful design.

It also portrays fishermen in their boats caught in this storm at sea. In this picture, Mount Fuji is relegated to a small triangle in the background of a composition dominated by a towering wave, setting up a strong contrast between the two forces.

Colorful wave drawings