The Old Man Mad About Drawing
Here's an inspiring little film by Tony White for anyone who worries that they are too old to start drawing or frustrated that they have yet to achieve the perfect approach to drawing. Katsushika Hokusai was the most extraordinary of the 19th century Japanese woodblock artists. He was constantly pushing himself, reinventing his identity, experimenting with media, and driving himself forward. I have copied the following quote into the margins of several of my own illustrated journals:
From around the age of six, I had the habit of sketching from life. I became an artist, and from fifty on began producing works that won some reputation, but nothing I did before the age of seventy was worthy of attention. At seventy-three, I began to grasp the structures of birds and beasts, insects and fish, and of the way plants grow. If I go on trying, I will surely understand them still better by the time I am eighty-six, so that by ninety I will have penetrated to their essential nature. At one hundred, I may well have a positively divine understanding of them, while at one hundred and thirty, forty, or more I will have reached the stage where every dot and every stroke I paint will be alive. May Heaven, that grants long life, give me the chance to prove that this is no lie.Recently I have been studying his work and thinking a lot about the importance of line quality and of slowing down and just thinking in terms of contour. He also gives me hope that, if I keep going, and refrain from smoking, shooting dope, eating steaks, and stressing out, I might live long enough to make a decent drawing or two. I recommend a sweet little book called The Old Man Mad About Drawing: A Tale of Hokusai that introduces the artist's life and work.
A record of my exploration into all aspects of drawing, illustrated journaling, creativity, and the inspiring aspects of art. By the author of "Everyday Matters," "The Creative License", and "An Illustrated Life" and other books.
Comments
What beautiful artwork. He had a real drive to keep it going, and an insatiable appetite for learning his craft. Just beautiful.
Posted by: lainey | September 12, 2008 09:33 AM
Superb. Wonderfully inspiring drawings and life story. There is hope for us all - even me. Just what I needed.
Ros
Posted by: Ros | September 12, 2008 02:19 PM
Thanks Danny! This was good for me in that it pointed me forward...instead of looking back, to the past. There's still time...
Posted by: Ron Philbeck | September 12, 2008 03:25 PM
Ahhh, I literally got chills watching this Danny. This was an amazing little animated short on my all time favorite artist. I was fortunate enough to see a near comprehensive Hokusai exhibit in DC several years ago, and it has left a lasting impression. One of the most spectacular exhibits I've seen, hands down. Many people think of his "Great Wave" (which was surprisingly small) and Mount Fuji series of prints, which are all great indeed, but he had so much more, and in my opinion, better work little known to the public until recently. My favorite part had to be looking through his sketchbooks however (known as Manga - they say he coined the term)! Thanks again for featuring this Danny. Your site is a goldmine of inspiration.
Posted by: steve | September 12, 2008 10:21 PM
starting from the day we married it was our own particular tradition to buy a big fat art album every september for our anniversary. my late husband was particularly thrilled to acquire our fourth which was on the work of hokusai. the man's oeuvre is so prodigious; this is the fattest album in our library. it was also my husband's favorite. he would regularly sit our daughter next to him and crack it open at a random page and thumb through some compositions with her.
our album collection is at home in california, so i can't go look up the specifics, but i remember that every time hokusai made a big change in his style he would change his name ... his signature.
Posted by: carole Anderson | September 13, 2008 02:42 AM
Great video. Thanks for pointing me to the book. It is a good read (one of those kids books that simplifies things for us older folk). The illustrations are superb.
Posted by: Fred Crowley | September 16, 2008 06:04 PM