Recently, out of curiosity to understand what pigments people in the Edo period used for woodblock prints, I have been reading Mad About Painting, a translation of Hokusai's remarkable painting manuals. Alongside lessons on drawing and composition is a fascinating glossary of pigments and painting techniques: a rare glimpse into the practical world of an artist's workshop two hundred years ago. The more I read, the more I realised that Hokusai's greatest lessons were not simp

A short blog on the importance of layering colours in mokuhanga

Having watched numerous videos about Japanese woodblock printing, one comment appears again and again: bokashi (the gradation) is the most difficult part of the process. Traditionally, it is often left until the end. Yet as I began printing this view of London, it quickly became clear that I had to start with the sky and this gradation technique. The reason was simple. The sky determined the atmosphere of the entire print. Choosing colours for a woodblock print is very differ