Minikins

https://www.aiki.com/minikins-small-zen-brush-watercolorsMy en plein air practice began in 2017 when I positioned myself at Yosemite to take a Japanese watercolorist I had befriended - Osamu 's - watercolor class every day for a week. It was wonderful and I learned a lot. Probably mostly that I was no good at watercolor .... at least, not yet. I tried some on line classes too, during Covid, and practiced washes and mountain landscapes. But in 2025, my son and I took a road trip primarily down the Northern California coastline (the south coastline was closed because of a landslide) with frequent stops so I could sit and paint at the ocean's edge and my son could conduct his business through his cell phone.

I enjoyed this practice so much that we went on another road trip in 2026. Between those road trips I traveled 3-4 times with an artist friend to a Southern California beach to sit and paint.

But my painting set up is very small as it all is supported by my lap. And so my paintings are also small. I call them Minikins! But many came out to display the life of Zen Brush even when applied to watercolor paints with a small brush. Minimal strokes that define a scene and leave some life on the page: that is the lesson of Zen Brush.

My idea was to frame some prints of these in a simple mat frame, put them in a protective cover, and display them from the wonderful wagon structure my grandson, Tyler, made for me. I thought I could roll myself down to the beach and hang out painting while the onlookers (there are always on lookers) could check out and maybe purchase for $20 a minikin as a souvenir to take home. My plan was dashed by Santa Monica's list of regulations and liscenses, maybe later I can do that. For now I just need to see if people like my minikins. Do you?