Body of local artist William Jameson is carried by waka ama on the Clive River in Hawke's Bay.

Hundreds attended a tribute to Hawke's Bay artist William Jameson that saw his casket carried by waka on the Clive River on Wednesday.

The 59-year-old father of six died in his sleep at his Napier home in the early hours of Saturday.

A casket built in Jameson's distinctive weaving style was constructed in the studio of close friend and fellow artist Ricks Terstappen. Friends called in to work on the piece, which was carried by a waka at the head of a small flotilla that paddled along the Clive River before a celebration of Jameson's life at Kohupatiki marae.

John Cowpland Casket of Hawke's Bay artist William Jameson is carried on a waka in the Clive River before his funeral.

The casket was made of kauri found in Jameson's workshop. It's top was one of his woven steel waka.

Jameson and Terstappen were devout waka ama practitioners and the waka tribute was thought a fitting tribute, Terstappen said.​

He said he and Jameson were regular swimmers at Clive Pool but took up waka ama after the pool closed for an upgrade a few years ago.

Body of artist William Jameson is carried by waka ama on the Clive River in Hawke's Bay.

"We never looked back. We got addicted. Will loved it. He never missed a training. We trained three times a week," he said.

"Very few in the world look forward to turning 60, but Will and I were, because at that age you become a 'golden master' in waka ama competitions and we might have been able to win some races. But it wasn't to be," Terstappen said.

Jameson came to art and sculpting late in life after being a sheep farmer near Ongaonga, west of Waipukurau.

John Cowpland Ricks Terstappen led a team of local artists that built a casket for friend and artist, William Jameson.

"He had what you might call a sort of midlife crisis when he was about 40. He loved farming, and was a good one too, but he hated killing things," Terstappen said.

"He remarried, moved to Napier and began studying art at EIT [Eastern Institute of Technology]. I was one of his teachers. That's how I got to know him.

"It wasn't long before he became my teacher. He had that typical Kiwi farmer ingenuity. He was fantastic at the hands-on stuff and he was fantastic at drawing. He was made to be an artist."

MARTY SHARPE/ FAIRFAX NZ A bull sculpture at the southern entrance to Havelock North by Hawke's Bay sculptor William Jameson, who died on June 11. The piece is made from chain he found at the Whakatu freezing works, which closed in the 1980s.

Jameson worked in many mediums but primarily steel. He made furniture and sculptures for rural and urban settings, often in collaboration with other Hawke's Bay artists, and he exhibited widely.

His works are found in private and public settings around the country.

One of his more prominent pieces is a large bull that sits atop a small hill at the southern entrance to Havelock North. It is made from old chains taken from the chain line at the Whakatu meatworks, which closed in the late 1980s.

Supplied Hawke's Bay sculptor William Jameson, right, died unexpectedly in his sleep at his Napier home on June 11. He is seen here with close friend and fellow sculptor Ricks Terstappen.

"Will was always inventing. He was very innovative and couldn't sit still. If he was here today he wouldn't be sitting around. He'd be in the workshop working on the casket," he said.