Chion-in (知恩院)

I find it rather odd that the less paint I put on the paper the more effort it takes me to do so. I have long admired those who can seemingly capture the essence of a scene with just a few broad and (apparently) lazy brush strokes, rather than getting caught up as I often do in adding endless detail, until I’m tripped up by clumsiness or the lack of a fine enough paint brush.

In this painting I have tried to use only large brushes and a few colours, supported by a minimum of pen outlines. I still haven’t achieved the simplicity of the paintings that I am trying to emulate, but I have at least managed to avoid adding too much detail, so I guess I should be happy with that.

For reference, the view is of the Amida-dō (阿弥陀堂), a building in the grounds of the Chiron-in Temple complex in Kyoto.