Sink or swim album artwork

Does anyone know anything about the album artwork for sink or swim?

Wave looks like it is taken from the woodblock print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa - by Hokusai.

Does anybody know about meaning, involvement of the birds?

It's a similar style for sure, but I wouldn't say it's really taken from it, more heavily inspired by Hokusai's work.
As for the birds, I always just figured they were seagulls, like you'd have plenty of at most coasts. So yeah, red sky night, seagulls and a tempestuous sea bashing into the dyke, I guess. Fitting fairly straightforwardly into the sailor/coastal imagery throughout the album.

by C. Spliedt (aka Plastic Fly)

4x2 feet, acrylic on wood

http://www.plasticfly.com