Hiroshige was a Japanese artist who made woodblock prints of everyday life. He used bright colors and creative perspectives to show natural beauty. Instead of using books or history to inspire his works of art, he created prints that show what anyone might see outside in Japan. This made his art something that all people could understand and appreciate. In this print, Hiroshige shows ships sailing down a river. Look closely at the work of art. How does he show boats moving through the water?
Artists sometimes divide pictures into sections so that we can tell what is closer to us and what is farther away. Objects in the front, or foreground, of a picture appear the biggest. Objects in the background are farthest away so they look smaller. What do you notice about the size of the boats in this print?
In this activity, you will use ripped paper to create a seascape that shows a larger boat in the foreground with smaller boats in the background.
For this activity you will need:
• Colorful paper (try many different kinds, like tissue paper, construction paper or pages from magazines)
• Glue
• Scissors
To make your seascape:
- Tear small pieces of paper. Glue the paper down. Cover about half of your paper to make the sky. You can use blue or experiment with other colors.
- Rip pieces of paper into long, jagged strips to make waves. Glue down each piece of paper so that it overlaps the one below it.
- Cut off any extra wave paper.
- Use brightly colored paper to make your boats. Cut out triangles for sails and half circles for the boats. Arrange your boats so the biggest boat is closer and the smaller ones are farther away. Glue the boats onto your seascape.