The Wave Painting

Overview

Students create a painted interpretation of The Wave inspired by Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Over several days, they will plan, mix colours, apply paint using controlled brushwork, and refine detail to show movement, pattern, and contrast in a Japanese ukiyo-e style.

Learning intentions

• WALT explore how artists use composition, colour, pattern, and texture to communicate drama and movement in artworks.
• WALT plan a painting by transferring a sketch into a suitable composition inspired by Hokusai.
• WALT develop painting techniques (layering, controlled brushwork, and strong contrast) to create foam and wave forms.
• WALT reflect on their choices and compare their work with the original print, focusing on what they changed and why.

Success criteria

• I can explain how my composition guides the viewer’s eye (e.g., diagonal wave, rule of thirds).
• I can mix and use a limited cool colour palette (deep blues, whites) with clear contrast.
• I can use brushwork and layering to create wave shape and foamy texture.
• I can make at least two improvements during feedback/refinement.

Curriculum links

• Visual Arts: explore and develop ideas through making, investigating, and responding.
• Visual Arts: use materials and techniques with increasing skill to create images.
• Visual Arts: communicate understanding of how visual elements and artistic processes shape meaning.
• Key competencies: using language/symbols, managing self, relating to others, and participating and contributing.

Lesson structure (90 minutes)

1. 0–10 min · Hook (artist + image). Teacher displays the uploaded artwork reference and asks: “What parts of the scene create the feeling of movement and danger?” Students quick-jot 2 observations (colour, shape, pattern).
2. 10–25 min · Model and discuss ukiyo-e style. Teacher introduces features students will copy/translate: dominant blues, white foam, diagonal wave, patterned curves, high contrast, and boats as scale. Students use a viewing checklist to identify these elements on the reference image.
3. 25–45 min · Planning: composition + transfer. Teacher demonstrates transferring a simplified wave outline onto painting paper (grid or light pencil projection method). Students choose one of two composition options (wave left-dominant like the reference, or slightly shifted). Students draw their wave + two boat silhouettes lightly, then check proportions.
4. 45–60 min · Colour mixing workshop. Teacher sets out a limited palette: dark blue, mid blue, light blue, near-black, white, and a warm neutral background option. Students mix 3–5 blue tones and practise a “wave stroke” on scrap paper (curves and overlapping lines).
5. 60–75 min · Day 1 painting block (base layers). Teacher paints the first wash and encourages layering from dark to light. Students apply the first base layers: background/sea and the main wave mass, leaving foam areas mostly unpainted for now (use masking fluid if available).
6. 75–85 min · Gallery walk + feedback. Students display works-in-progress. In pairs they use “Glow/Glow + Grow” feedback: one strength and one specific next step (e.g., “grow contrast by deepening the wave shadow”).
7. 85–90 min · Exit ticket + pack-up for next days. Students complete a short reflection: “One technique I tried was… I will improve by…” Teacher collects notes to inform next session.

Resources

• The uploaded reference image (displayed for whole class)
• Painting paper (A3 or A2), pencils, erasers
• Brushes (varied sizes), water cups, paper towels
• Tempera or acrylic paint, palette trays
• Mixing charts (teacher-made: deep/mid/light blues ratios)
• Optional: masking fluid, fine liners, stencils for boats
• Scrap paper for practice strokes

Assessment

• Formative checks during painting: teacher circulates to see whether students can mix consistent blue tones and create wave curvature with controlled brushwork.
• Observation of planning: teacher checks pencil sketches for composition (diagonal wave, strong focal area).
• Exit ticket after the lesson: teacher reads “Glow/Grow” and the improvement plan for the next day’s focus.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters for exit ticket (“My strongest part is… My next step is…”) and a simplified tracing template of wave outlines.
• Support: reduce choices by offering two pre-decided palette options and pre-sketched boat shapes.
• Challenge/extension: students add more patterned ripple bands, experiment with additional blue hues, and refine foam edge detail using a fine brush or dry-brush technique.
• Dyslexia-friendly reading: use short verbal instructions, pictorial steps on the board, and audio explanations during hook/model; provide a colour-based checklist rather than long written descriptions.

Extension (optional)

• Advanced finish (extra day or time): incorporate subtle atmospheric layering by glazing lighter blue bands near the horizon and adding more wave “ripples” like repeating arcs; students write a 3-sentence justification of their changes compared with Hokusai.