To complement the Grade 5/6 topic of Natural Disasters, we shared the book 'The Great Wave' and talked about the Japanese artist, Hokusai and his famous wood block print 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa'.
We had a guided drawing session together where we learned how to draw the crest and white caps of the waves. We discussed the element of space, adding a horizon line and making the distinction between the foreground and background. Students drew directly onto their white paper with black oil pastel, encouraging them to draw 'big' and not worry about mistakes and having to rub out pencil lines. Some students chose to add Mt Fuji in the background as an active volcano or as a snow capped mountain. Some students also chose to include a boat to add to the sense of movement in their painting.
Tempera paint blocks were used to with plenty of water on our brushes and as a final touch, students splattered white acrylic paint to create a sense of the splashing white foam of the waves. Final artworks are on display in the office and they look fantastic!
