The Great ‘Metal’ Wave off Kanagawa

This metal adaptation of the ‘Great Wave off Kanagawa’ is by the Japanese artist called Katsushika Hokusai.

What really captured his attention with this kind of art, were the colours which can be achieved when welding stainless steel, and one of the true great satisfactions he obtains from doing this, is seeing someone else enjoying the art which he has created; as well as how the colours of the artwork change throughout the day as the sun rises and falls.

It is made of 3mm thick 304 stainless steel plates using satin finished stainless steel rather than mirror polished as it gives the art more texture and is less prone to scratching compared with the mirror polished finish. The welds are made using Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), controlling the tungsten stick out, gas flow rates, travel speed and amperage control, all which can affect the colours of the art.