Tokyo Station in Autumn Art print (秋の東京駅)

Nov 22, 2022 | Art prints, Art work

Tokyo Station in Autumn (秋の東京駅) Art print

An illustrated study of the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station. Dating back to 1914, this recently renovated beautiful red brick building, captured on a hot autumn afternoon is illustrated and digitally printed on fine art paper. Available in various sizes.

;

Tokyo Station serves over half a million passengers each day making it one of the busiest train stations in Japan.

Architect Tatsuno Kingo (who also designed Manseibashi Station and the nearby Bank of Japan building). Completed in 1914, Although, to me, it did look to me to be very Euopean in style compared to most buildings in Japan and the building is often rumored to be fashioned after Amsterdam Centraal station in the Netherlands, although there is little evidence to support the opinion. That being said, the Marunouchi side highlights an architectural style that mimics other “sister stations” around the world, some of which which include New York’s Grand Central Terminal, Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof in Germany, Amsterdam Central station and Beijing railway station and Hsinchu Station in Taiwan.

The whole complex is linked by an extensive system of underground passageways that merge with surrounding commercial buildings and shopping centres.

History

The original station is located in Chiyoda’s Marunouchi business district near the Imperial Palace grounds. Due to its size the station is divided into the Marunouchi (west) side and Yaesu (east) sides. Tokyo Station opened on December 20, 1914 with four platforms;[1] two serving electric trains (current Yamanote/Keihin–Tōhoku Line platforms) and two serving non-electric trains (current Tōkaidō Line platforms). The Chūō Main Line extension to the station was completed in 1919 and originally stopped at the platform now used by northbound Yamanote/Keihin–Tōhoku trains. During this early era, the station only had gates on the Marunouchi side, with the north side serving as an exit and the south side serving as an entrance.[4] The Yaesu side of the station opened in 1929.

During WWII it was partially damaged and restored in 12 to it’s originally architectural glory. This image of the view of main entrance of the Marunouchi side highlights an architectural style that mimics other “sister stations” around the world, some of which which include New York’s Grand Central Terminal, Amsterdam Central station and Beijing railway station.

Much more than a travel hub Tokyo train station is a cultural landmark consisting of restaurants, shops and dining areas. It houses an art museum in The Tokyo Station Gallery where some of the original structural design can be seen as well as Tokyo’s world renowned Tokyo Station Hotel.

Tokyo Eki in Autumn Art print

I had initially envisaged creating this as a screen print during 2020 but due to Covid restrictions shutting down the print studio this wasn’t to be. However, as a digital print I was able to add as many colours and detail as I wanted, fine tune my Illustrator skills and try new techniques. A very worthwhile thing to do on every project but this in itself became a little problematic, not knowing when to call it quits. I referenced other images to narrow down some exact building detail, noticeably the foyer, brick and tile work and spires, details that my original photograph didn’t pickup due as it was shot at least half a mile away.

Tokyo Station in Autumn Art Print detail

Support Equality

Jul 6, 2020 | Art prints, Art work, News, Typography

Anger over the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others, and the system that supports police brutality has hit many hard. Although saddening and horrific, they were not surprising events.

I am still angry but I am also hopeful that the seeds of real change for equality may have been sown.

Based on an archived uchi T shirt design, this art print addresses the polarising protests and marches for racial justice and constitutional rights.

An art print addressing the saddening and horrific police brutality and murder of George Floyd and what was heard from the video of Darnella Frazier.

70% of the sale from these prints will go to the Bristol based charity Babbasa.

Babbasa is a Bristol-based social enterprise, dedicated to bringing equal opportunities to Bristol by supporting young people from underrepresented backgrounds discover their strengths and talents and pursue their ambitions. They are currently holding an appeal to support vulnerable young people affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Read more Babbasa and how they are helping black lives matter.

SHOP RELEVANT ITEMS

SEIKO Dive Watch Giveaway with DC Vintage Watches

Mar 24, 2020 | Art prints, Design, Horology Series, News, T shirts

Seiko Dive Watch Giveaway

uchi horologi series ホロロジーシリーズ

DC Vintage watches along with uchi and Southpaw Leather Goods is giving away a Seiko dive watch package, which includes:

1) 1993 Seiko 7S26 automatic dive watch

2) Two Southpaw Leather Goods leather straps

3) The uchi SKX “The Wave” print and a SKX Day Date Wheel T shirt!

Read on to find out how to enter

The Watch:

There are many vintage Seiko divers popular with collectors, and the legendary 7S26 is one of these. With good reason, Seiko was able to build a cult following around this movement and its various iterations. Of significant note – Seiko oddly discontinued these legendary divers in 2018.

The design of this 7S26 is classic and simple, with immediate evidence of those that came before it, namely the instantly recognizable Seiko 7002 automatic, 7548 quartz, and even the famous 6309 diver. Its automatic movement is tough and reliable – during its heyday, it was also popular with various armed forces for this same reason, despite the widely held (false) assumption that military personnel only wear military watches issued to them.

Seiko’s 7S26 is a logical step in its mechanical movement line, which debuted in 1996 to replace the 7002 in Seiko’s popular dive watch line. This 7S26 incorporates quickset day and date displays, and automatic bi-directional winding via Seiko’s patented Magic Lever system. The 7S26 automatic movement is a very reliable workhorse – with a power reserve of approximately 40 hours – and it runs at 21,600 beats per hour.

About DC Vintage Watches

DC Vintage Watches has great respect for classic mechanical movement timepieces – usually originating from the vintage and retro eras, spanning from the 1950’s to 1990’s – for the care taken during this period by Swiss, American, and Japanese watchmakers to ensure the owner had a keepsake worthy of lasting decades (and longer), all at an affordable price. We strive to bring these beautiful and interesting watches, the type people will undoubtedly notice on your wrist, to our discerning customers.

Each one of the vintage watches we curate has its own unique story, which we do our best to track down for our customers – doing the research to find these stories is half the thrill of the vintage watch hunt, and we do it well.

You can find DCVW on Instagram @dcvintagewatches or via email at dcvintagewatches@gmail.com.

The SKX Wave Print and Day Date T Shirt:

If you are an Seiko SKX009 owner (the ‘Pepsi’ bezel version) you will know the relevance of featuring the Hokusai Wave in this design. The engraving on the back of the SKX dive watch is a homage to Hokusai’s Great Wave woodblock print. This is an unframed, high quality, signed and titled art print, printed onto a lovely 300 gram matt paper.

The Seiko SKX Day Date Wheel Watch shirt based on the Seiko SKX diver’s watch. As with many watch day date wheels, the SKX has various versions – choose between the International Day Date Wheel with days in English and French, the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) Day Date Wheel which has the days of the week in English and Japanese typically for watches intended for the Japanese domestic market (JDM) or the Arabic Day Date Wheel version with Arabic and English days of the week.

Seiko SKX meets The Great Wave off Kanagawa wall art

Seiko SKX Pepsi meets The Great Wave off Kanagawa wall art

Seiko SKX Pepsi meets The Great Wave off Kanagawa art pint detail

Seiko SKX Japanese day date wheel men's black T shirt

Seiko SKX Japanese day date wheel men's white T shirt

Seiko SKX International day date wheel men's black T shirt

Seiko SKX International day date wheel men's white T shirt

Seiko SKX Arabic day date wheel men's black T shirt

Seiko SKX Arabic day date wheel men's white T shirt

The Straps:

Two high-quality hand made leather straps, one navy blue with red accent stitching, the other black with white. Both straps comes with high-grade stainless steel brushed hardware – nothing but quality here!

More on Southpaw Leather Goods:

Southpaw Leather Goods is a maker of fine leather watch straps and wallets based out of central Iowa. Using only the highest quality leathers, Andrew creates each unique piece entirely by hand using traditional leather working techniques. SLG specializes in custom straps, using a few measurements from you and your watch to create a finished strap completely custom to you and your watch.

You can find Andrew on Instagram @southpawleathergoods or via email at andrew@southpawleathergoods.com.

TO ENTER

Like our post on this contest on Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter;
Follow @dcvintagewatches, @uchiclothing, and @southpawleathergoods on Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter;
Repost this contest onto one of your social media accounts, preferably Instagram;
Tag two people.

That’s it!

Giveaway ends April 5th, 2020

uchi horology series

Watch this space

50th Anniversary Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Horology Art Prints

Sep 14, 2019 | Art prints, Art work, Horology Series

Ask a watch enthusiast about iconic watches and there is a good chance they’ll include the OMEGA Speedmaster Professional Chronograph in their list.

Since Buzz Aldrin took that one small step onto the lunar surface on 20th July 1969 wearing a Speedmaster, it has been known as the “Moonwatch”. Although it was introduced in 1957 as a sport and racing chronograph, the Speedmaster was no stranger to space having been on the 1962 Mercury Sigma 7 Mission. Three years and a few generations later, the Speedmaster would out perform watches from the likes of Rolex, Breitling, Hamilton and Longines to become the official chronograph for all Gemini and Apollo missions.

The Speedmaster’s history is well documented and we could go on in detail about the aesthetic reasons why this is such a practical and fit-for-purpose watch, instead, we suggest you read Watchgecko’s articles detailing Why the Omega Speedmaster is an iconic watch.

Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Horology Art Print

It was a pleasure to create these prints, having a keen interest in science and astronomy as well as sharing a birthday on the day the Apollo XI came back to earth. Of course it was important to reference the original 1969 model 145.012 as worn by the Apollo 11 astronauts. And the hands at 17 minutes past eight? 20:17:39 (UTC time) marks the exact time of the Lunar module landing. Speaking of the landing site, the Sea of Tranquility, although barely visible in the shadows it’s appropriately situated where the OMEGA logo would be.

Zooming out behind the moon we see exactly how the heavens looked from this exact position in time and space on 20th July 1969 at exactly 20:17:39 (UTC). A high resolution star map rich in accurate astronomical data details the positions of the Milky Way and celestial objects and the equatorial grid lines and constellation boundaries are shown in red and yellow.

Finally, on to the text itself. The uchi passion for typography completes this 50th anniversary Omega Moonwatch timepiece art. Set in ‘Futura’, the same typeface NASA uses for all Apollo mission plaques and matching the curve of the dial/moon is the first line from the commemorative plaque left behind by the Apollo XI astronauts.

“Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D.”

50th Anniversary Apollo XI Omega Speedmaster Art Print

uchi horology series OMEGA Speedmaster Apollo II art print

Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch Horology Art Print

The Omega Speedmaster ‘Moonwatch’ Art Print keeps things simple. An illustrated version of the 1969 Speedmaster edition (reference 145.012) with tachymeter is the main focal point of the artwork. However a subtle addition of the surface of the moon and a lighting effect that looks to replicate the domed crystal gives a different dynamic to it. Finally, to really add contrast, an all-black background makes that iconic Speedmaster dial pop out.

OMEGA Speedmaster Moonwatch art print - uchi horology series

Shop “Moonwatch” art prints

uchi horology series

Soundwave off Kanagawa Art print (神奈川沖音波)

Mar 11, 2019 | Art prints, Art work, Screen printing

Soundwave off Kanagawa (神奈川沖音波) Art print

A retrospective look at a classic ukiyo-e print

Following the latest uchi print based on The Great Wave off Kanagawa (神奈川沖浪裏), we look at the Ukiyo-e traditional Japanese woodblock prints and in particular the works of ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai.

;

Soundwave off Kanagawa
神奈川沖音波

Fine art print

A fine art print of an original illustration based on The Great Wave off Kanagawa (神奈川沖浪裏) Japanese woodblock print by ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai.

Available in A3, A2 and A1 fine art paper prints. Signed by the artist.

SHOP

Pictures of the Floating World

Ukiyo-e refers to the Japanese paintings and woodblock prints that emerged in Japan’s Edo period (1615-1868). These affordable prints captured everyday Japanese life; stylish courtesans, kabuki theatres, sumō wrestlers, historical events, landscapes and erotica. Ukiyo-e (浮世絵), although often translated as “pictures of the floating world,” literally means “Pictures of the fleeting world”, that is the fleeting secular world. As such, the paintings and prints were more appealing and diverse than art of the ruling Shōgun class.

Not only did the ukiyo-e prints document the leisure activities and climate of the era, they also showcased Japanese aesthetics of beauty, nature and spirituality to the outside world and was central to forming the West’s perhaps misleading perception of Japanese culture. The development of multicoloured printing led to mass-marketing and increased popularity, and by the mid-19th century a print could run into the thousands. At this time the Japanese arts were ‘trending’ in Western culture and had a strong influence on early Impressionists and Art Nouveau artists such as Monet, Vincent van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec. Today, ukiyo-e is still the best know style of Japanese painting.

Katsushika Hokusai had more aliases than a Wu-Tang Clan member

Born in what is known now as Tokyo in 1760 Katsushika Hokusai began painting early in life. His name as a child was “Tokitarō” and at 14 began honing his skills as an apprentice wood-carver. He then studied under the ukiyo-e artist Katsukawa Shunshō who would give him a new name “Shunrō” and from whose school he would eventually be expelled. An inspiring time for an artist, he is quoted as saying “What really motivated the development of my artistic style was the embarrassment I suffered at Shunkō’s hands.” He now had a new focus. Instead of the usual courtesans and Kabuki images practiced by artists like his former master, he focused on landscapes and the portrayal of everyday Japanese society, changing both his career and ukiyo-e art.

In 1811 at the age of 51, Hokusai changed his name to “Taito” and begun his largest body of work, Hokusai Manga (北斎漫画). This was a 15-volume collection of sketches featuring animals, religious figures, everyday people, objects, landscapes, dragons, the list goes on. They have been compared to Rembrandt and Van Gogh’s work, for “the thrilling panorama they provide both of the world and of Hokusai’s imagination”.

Katsushika Hokusai: One Hundred Views of MountOne Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku hyakkei), 1834;

One Again

On his sixtieth birthday in 1820, Hokusai changed his name to “Iitsu” meaning “one again”. It was during this period he would make one of his most celebrated print series, Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. Published between 1830 and 1832, this series included the famous Great Wave off Kanagawa. Due to it’s popularity, ten more prints were later added. And then, in 1834 under the new pseudonym “Gakyō Rōjin Manji” (The Old Man Mad About Art) he published One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽百景 Fugaku Hyakkei), a work which “is generally considered the masterpiece among his landscape picture books”.

Katsushika Hokusai: The Great Wave off Kanagawa

Among the other popular series of prints he published during this time are A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces and Unusual Views of Celebrated Bridges in the Provinces. He later began producing a number of detailed individual images of flowers and birds, including the extraordinarily detailed Poppies and Flock of Chickens. He died after a short illness in 1849, aged 90.

From the age of six I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was 50 I had published a universe of designs. But all I have done before the age of 70 is not worth bothering with. At 75 I’ll have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am 80 you will see real progress. At 90 I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At 100, I shall be a marvellous artist. At 110, everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I used to call myself Hokusai, but today I sign my self ‘The Old Man Mad About Drawing’.

Katsushika Hokusai

Woodblock printing in Japan

Woodblock printing in Japan (木版画, mokuhanga) was also used for printing books long before the advent of movable type. Woodblock printing had been used in China for centuries but was widely adopted in Japan during the Edo period. Although similar to woodcut in Western printmaking in some regards, the mokuhanga technique uses water-based inks as opposed to oil-based inks primarily used in western woodcuts. The Japanese water-based inks provide a wide range of vivid colors, glazes, and transparency.

I am a huge fan of woodblock prints, especially those by Japanese artists, past and present. Coming from a print background myself, I’ve always admired the results of fine draftsmanship and quality that relief printing can achieve. Woodblock printing involves carving the desired pattern onto a large block, covering that design in ink or dye, and stamping it onto the fabric. I only wish I had the skill and patience that woodblock artists have. As a screen printer however, I am looking forward to screen printing the Soundwave off Kanagawa and seeing the difference between the digital version and a woodblock print.

How Did Hokusai Create The Great Wave?

Soundwave off Kanagawa

This latest uchi art print, entitled ‘Soundwave off Kanagawa‘ (神奈川沖音波) features a redrawn Hokusai Wave with Mount Fuji in the background. The drama unfolding in the sea has been changed form the original. Instead of three “fast boats” in the sea there is one boat with a deejay at the helm. The people in the boat are based on figures depicted in the ukiyo-e print “Tea house at Koishikawa. The morning after a snowfall” (礫川雪の旦).

I like the idea of a synergy between all the different elements and how they could be affecting each other. How the waves might be responding to the sound from the boat. Are the people in the boat responding to what the deejay is playing or the approaching wave? And, on a science geek tip, I also like the idea of symbolizing sound waves (longitudinal waves) and sea waves (transverse waves).