Seagulls over the Waves 1915

Ohara Koson made this woodblock print, ‘Seagulls over the Waves’ at some point between 1900 and 1930, and what I love about it is how light it is! It's like a breath of fresh air. The way Koson uses texture is so subtle, yet so effective. Look at the waves – you can almost feel the mist in the air, and then the way the block is printed creates all this surface incident, like the foam on the waves. The grey wash is so finely rendered, and then offset against those crisp white bellies of the birds. The whole image is about the interplay between these tones and textures. It’s a lesson in how to make a little go a long way. There's something so simple and direct about this work, and it reminds me of Hokusai. I feel like both of these artists capture something essential about the natural world, with a kind of humble attention to detail. It's like they're saying, "Look at this! Isn't it amazing?" which, of course, it is.