Hokusai says
Hokusai says look carefully.
He says pay attention, notice.
He says keep looking, stay curious.
He says there is no end to seeing.
He says look forward to getting old.
He says keep changing, you just get more who you really are.
He says get stuck, accept it, repeat yourself as long as it’s interesting.
He says keep doing what you love.
He says keep praying.
He says every one of us is a child, every one of us is ancient, every one of us has a body.
He says every one of us is frightened.
He says every one of us has to find a way to live with fear.
He says everything is alive—shells, buildings, people, fish, mountains, trees.
Wood is alive.
Water is alive.
Everything has its own life.
Everything lives inside us.
He says live with the world inside you.
He says it doesn’t matter if you draw, or write books.
It doesn’t matter if you saw wood, or catch fish.
It doesn’t matter if you sit at home and stare at the ants on your veranda
or the shadows of the trees and grasses in your garden.
It matters that you care.
It matters that you feel.
It matters that you notice.
It matters that life lives through you.
Contentment is life living through you.
Joy is life living through you.
Satisfaction and strength is life living through you.
Peace is life living through you.
He says don’t be afraid.
Don’t be afraid.
Look, feel, let life take you by the hand.
Let life live through you.
Roger S. Keyes
Hokusai Says A poem written by Roger S, Keyes
Hokusai remains a mystery and an inspiration for my art and tattoo work. One of the main inspirations for traditional tattoo artists and artists worldwide, we could say that he has created the most famous Japanese image with the wave or Kanagawa.
Anyone who wishes to draw has to learn to see with the eye; the capacity to see that transform our technical abilities, but also that reveals the secrets and the hidden patterns that those who do not look have little chance to notice.
Every so often we think we see, but it is only an interpretation of what we think we have seen. How many notice the ever moving light? Any of us that has dedicated enough time to life drawing in a natural environment will know, that in many occasions, by the time you look a second time, you are already looking at something else.
Hokusai’s ability to express the essence of its subjects in a few strokes, combined with the details and layers of meaning in his compositions; describe a culture, a microcosm, a way of looking at the world that inspires so many of us.
On a personal level, it pushes me to look deeper within; learn to look again and again; consider what you see, and comprehend how the way you see is a direct reflection of the models we have built within that defines our perceptions:
It is for each of us to find the lines, textures, and shades that express the truth of the subject and reveal how the essence of our perceptions.
If you like Hokusai’s work, Check his manga collections.
Hokusai Manga
Hokusai Manga: 3 Volume Box (Japanese Edition)
Hokusai Manga (English and Japanese Edition)