Categories
Art Photography

Fujiyama

If you’re looking for a rabbit hole allow me to recommend digital collections of the New York Public Library. Naturally, I headed straight for their Meiji era photos of Japan:

The first daguerreotype camera was imported into Japan in 1848 (the patent dates to 1839). Wet and dry plate photographic processes were introduced into Japan by Dutch photographers stationed on the island of Dejima, in Nagasaki Bay, beginning in the 1850s.

I love how instantly recognisable Fuji is:

fujiphoto

And how similar this is to Hokusai’s view of Fuji from the Tōkaidō, produced some 70-80 years earlier:

fuji36

I wonder if the photographer had that in mind when they created the shot.

Categories
Art Film

Miss Hokusai

Categories
Art Design

Okinami

okinami

Some fun type based on a certain view of Mt Fuji.

Categories
My Doodles

With a private boat (cont.)

Just in case anyone’s interested the original sketch went a little something like this (complete with hot chocolate stain):

boat1_t

I can’t actually remember which way round the inspiration worked but the idea was to essentially combine these two images:

boat_ww

wave

(By Maurice Sendak and Katsushika Hokusai respectively)

More specifically the idea was to render the first in the style of the second, or insert the characters of the first into the second. My original intention was also to recreate the scene in an ink & wash style but in the end I decided I wouldn’t be able to get the fine detail and the homage itself would be lost so I went for manipulating the Hokusai image rather than recreating it.

The main difference between my original sketch and the final (lined paper and stain aside) is the positioning of Max and the Wild Thing. Originally I’d pictured Max in the nearest boat (which I’d incorrectly remembered as breaking through the near wave) with the Wild Thing emerging from between the rear wave but in the end I opted to switch them. Firstly to echo Sendak’s original spread (Wild Thing left; Max right) and I also didn’t want the sail on Max’s boat obscuring any of the waves themselves (though i didn’t mind it obscuring Mt Fuji as I like that it stops this image being a view of Mt Fuji).

So with the two nearer boats shopped out and Max’s mast, sail and self added in I was just left with the Wild Thing. The first attempt was pretty awful, I was trying to construct it from various flat elements and then stealing bits of texture from the original (as I had with the sail and Max) but it looked too out of place. Then the obvious hit me: drop in a sea creature/dragon from an existing japanese woodblock. A bit of scouting around found this little gem:

basket

So with a little help from Utagawa Kuniyoshi and some recolouring so the dragon isn’t lost in the wave we have our final picture:

ww_h

About which I am quite chuffed.

Categories
My Doodles

With a private boat

and in and out of weeks
and almost over a year
to where the wild things are.

hokusendak_t

A (slightly belated) birthday present for Alexis (click for full)

Categories
Art

Horiyoshi III

Hopefully Glen’s tattoo went well this afternoon – chatting about tattoos with both Glen and Alexis has made me think a bit more about whether I want a tattoo (which I’m pretty sure I do) and if so what I would want (which I am fairly clueless on).

Whilst scouting around for ideas I came across this interview with Horiyoshi III:

I think if I was to get a tattoo I wouldn’t quite have the balls to:

  • Have it done with what appears to be a large screwdriver
  • Have a full body irezumi

That aside his work is pretty amazing – reminds me of a guy I once saw in a Kyoto bathhouse.

More of his work from his website:

It appears you will also soon be able to buy Horiyoshi III clothing.