Time and Tide (Quarter Moon)

Time and Tide (Quarter Moon) is an abstract night scene organized around celestial and tidal rhythms, with the quarter moon providing both compositional anchor and temporal reference. In mokuhanga, night scenes traditionally rely on deep indigo and black pigments with strategic reserves of unpainted [washi](/glossary/washi) to suggest moonlight — a technique traceable to the [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) tradition of landscape prints. Norman likely deploys graduated [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) across large tonal fields to build nocturnal atmosphere, with a discrete circular or crescent form marking the moon's position. The pairing of tide and moon in the title acknowledges the gravitational relationship between the two, framing the print as a study in cyclical, measurable time rather than a specific observed moment.