"The Great Wave" by 2nd Grade inspired by Hokusai

These artworks were developed from a simple painting exercise and color theory review. I had wanted to review proper painting technique, paint blending, and the color order of the rainbow spectrum, so my students all painted a piece of paper to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding.  After that...well...I wasn't too sure where to go next with their work.

As I stared at their painted papers I turned one vertical and thought that the warm colors could be a sunset and the cool colors, the ocean. "A-HA!" I thought! We will cut these up into layers and create a landscape inspired by Hokusai's "The Great Wave of Kanagawa".

By Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) - Restored version of File:Great Wave off Kanagawa.jpg (rotated and cropped, dirt, stains, and smudges removed. Creases corrected. Histogram adjusted and color balanced.), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5576388

The art history geek squealed with glee! I love sharing important works of art with my students and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Even though the original work is a print without all the colors of the rainbow evident, but hey...we can make imaginative interpretations.

After I passed back their rainbow painted papers, I shared the original work of art with a presentation as well as this fun video to help motivate my artists.

I then demonstrated how we were going to cut and layer our painted paper to create our own versions of Hokusai's famous print. I also gave them brown painted paper to use for their boats.

They were then encouraged to add their own details with paint. Some students got really creative with their landscapes.
Here are some of the results!

Thanks for stopping by!