I've always admired the original image by Japanese artist, Hokusai, but have never tried to draw it. The original was a woodprint block, first made in the 1830s and is one of the most recognizable pieces of Japanese art in the world.
I always thought it was rather elegant, but only after having tried to draw it do I realise what a masterpiece this really is. I found it really difficult to define the wave at first, as I concentrated on the dark pieces, the blues and the blacks. In pencils I couldn't see the wave at all, but when I brought down the Sharpies and started colouring it in (which was a huge pleasure by the way. All those lovely circular strokes from the inside. It was really natural to colour) the piece came to life.
It was as if the nothingness of the wave, the whites left behind, came to define the wave in equal measure to the solid colour. This was such a shock. It came out of nowhere and totally took me by surprise. You can actually look at this piece by imagining that the paper was blue and the whites were drawn onto it. The whole work is in perfect balance, a yin and yang of colour and form.
The is probably one of my favourite pieces of the 365 so far. An eye-opener
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