Simple Pleasures

It doesn't get much simpler than this.

Keeping it simple

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"Simplify, simplify, simplify!" These are wise words from Henry David Thoreau, who has been a sort of life coach for me since I was a teen. In Walden, he advocated for a simple, purposeful life. Well, it's a philosophy that can also be applied to art in many ways: design, color usage and more—and even to your daily art practice.

I've written before about how I picked up gouache for plein air sketching back when the pandemic stole into our lives. My goal was to find a simple kit that would let me engage in a relaxing but productive way with nature, taking no more than an hour, a practice that would both clear my head and refresh my soul. For me, gouache was the perfect solution.

Lately, I've pared things down a bit more. Instead of a shoulder bag with my gouache kit, I now carry just a small sketchbook and a brush pen. I've come to really like this pen: the Pentel Aquash Pigment-Filled Brush. It's an awkward name, but the brush is anything but awkward, and I can make both fine and thick lines and even use the side to block in broad areas. Also, because the sketch book is only 3.5"x5.5", I am forced to keep any sketch I make simple, and to maintain a tight focus on my subject. The size is not very good for vistas. I've tried sketching a broad landscape, but the result has always been unsatisfactory; my best sketches are the ones where I zoom in on a single tree or a single rock. In a way, keeping my eye on just a small part of the landscape simplifies things further.

I thought I'd share here some of my tree sketches with you, as well as as short video on how I handle the brush.