Hawk hunting for hare 1900 - 1910

Ohara Koson made this print, Hawk hunting for hare, with such delicate skill, carefully layering blocks of colour to create the final image. I can imagine him, right, carefully carving the wood, thinking about the drama of the hunt, a cycle of life. The dark, angled strokes of the falling rain contrast with the fluffy white body of the hare, and the sharp beak and claws of the hawk. There’s a tension here, not just of predator and prey, but of stillness and movement. The soft greys and browns create a quiet atmosphere, but the scene itself is full of action! Koson has made other bird prints. And you know, seeing this makes me think of other artists who are obsessed with animals and nature, like Audubon, or even contemporary artists like Walton Ford, each adding their own spin. It's like we're all talking to each other, across time and space, about life, death, and everything in between.