Hokusai Reproduction Painting

For those of you that don't know, I went to school for Art Education and Computer Art & Graphics Programming. So while graphic design and digital art are my main loves, my art education training gave an appreciation for other mediums as well. I especially love painting and printmaking. So it is no surprise that this post is about a print I did a painting of. 

One of my favorite classes in college was art history. There was so much to soak up in that class, and I had an awesome professor. I remember learning about Japanese wood cut prints like The Great Wave. I did not fully appreciate them until I tried wood cuts in my printmaking class. They are not the most fun, and are rather frustrating. So now looking at prints from woodblocks impress me so much.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa

The Great Wave off Kanagawa is a pretty well known painting. There is even a emoji based off it. It was actually part of a larger series of 36 prints featuring Mt. Fuji. My favorite print by Hokusai is in his One hundred views of Mount Fuji series called Kaijo no Fuji. This print was done much later, but he references a similar point of view of Mt Fuji, and uses many stylistic similarities. 

Kaijo no Fuji

Along with the complementary color schemes and stylization of the ocean, I love the sublime quality of these prints. Many artists have used the epic of nature as an expression of the sublime. These prints make me feel small, and remind me that God is big. While the waves are intimidating, God is in control, and that is comforting.  

So how did I end up doing this painting? Well, I was ordering a frame for another project. And before I knew it, there was a VERY LARGE package waiting for me in our leasing office. I had gotten the wrong size. Wah. The frame was really cheap, so it wasn't going to be worth it to pay return shipping, therefore I kept it. After a couple days, I had come up with a game plan for it. 

I wanted to do something that had to do with a hymn. I had a few in mind, but kept coming back to this one.

JESUS, SAVIOR, PILOT ME

The Sailor’s Hymn

Jesus, Savior, pilot me

Over life’s tempestuous sea;

Unknown waves before me roll,

Hiding rock and treacherous shoal.

Chart and compass come from Thee;

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

While th’Apostles’ fragile bark

Struggled with the billows dark,

On the stormy Galilee,

Thou didst walk upon the sea;

And when they beheld Thy form,

Safe they glided through the storm.

Though the sea be smooth and bright,

Sparkling with the stars of night,

And my ship’s path be ablaze

With the light of halcyon days,

Still I know my need of Thee;

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

When the darkling heavens frown,

And the wrathful winds come down,

And the fierce waves, tossed on high,

Lash themselves against the sky,

Jesus, Savior, pilot me,

Over life’s tempestuous sea.

As a mother stills her child,

Thou canst hush the ocean wild;

Boisterous waves obey Thy will,

When Thou sayest to them, “Be still!”

Wondrous Sovereign of the sea,

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

When at last I near the shore,

And the fearful breakers roar

’Twixt me and the peaceful rest,

Then, while leaning on Thy breast,

May I hear Thee say to me,

“Fear not, I will pilot thee.”

I could not keep these words out of my head nor the image of Kaijo no Fuji. So my original plan was to buy a print of Kaijo no Fuji and put a verse from the Hymn on the print. Unfortunately, I could not find Kaijo no Fuji in the size I needed. Then I got to thinking....Well my frame came with some cardboard in it...I'll just reproduce the print on that. 

Obviously, it would not be an exact reproduction since I would be painting it, not making a woodblock of it. Because of that, I decided to embrace some painterly qualities and used some not so normal methods for painting (like using a sponge roller). Below, I documented my process of painting. 

First, I tiled a print of the painting in the size I needed, and used it as reference throughout the process. 

I began blocking my sky with a sponge roller. 

Then, I blocked in the wave. First with the darks, and then adding in highlights. 

I wanted the strokes to look organic. So, I wasn't too worried about staying "in the lines" or it looking exactly like the original.

I set down my sponge roller, and began making the white wave lines with a brush.

These weren't too perfect either. I really just wanted to capture the essence of the original and embrace the quality of the paint.

The next step was painting "the foam" of the wave. I found this part rather intimidating. If I didn't get it right, the painting would lose so much character.

It started out a little rough, but eventually I got the hang of it and became more confident in tackling the foam sections.

I then added a blue under the white foam at the top to really make the white pop.

Then I added the birds, and I was done! You can see how I continued to use the tiled prints as a reference throughout the whole process.

Eventually, I would like to add a verse from the hymn I mentioned. I think it would look cool to stencil the words in on top of the glass so they hover over the painting a bit. But, right now, I'm just enjoying it how it is. 

Sidenote: I ended up taking the photograph above and vectorizing it for a wedding invitation design. The design below can be purchased on my Etsy shop here. So you can consider this my subtle announcement that my shop is open for business. 

Laterbug, Caiterbug.