Garden 1960

Okiie Hashimoto made this print, "Garden," and the thing that grabs me is how he's not trying to be fancy or realistic. He's diving right into the feel of a garden, using these bold, flat colors like yellow and red. It's the kind of simplicity that comes from really knowing your stuff, you know? Check out how he lays down the black ink for the trees. They're like these solid, strong lines that hold the whole image together. The texture in the ground and the sky, though, is where it gets interesting. It's almost like he's letting the materials do their own thing, creating these little imperfections and patterns. There's a single, delicate line drawing of a bird which stands in contrast to the strong black lines of the trees. It reminds me of some of Milton Avery's simpler landscapes, where it's all about getting the mood right, not every little detail. Art's this ongoing chat, right? It's about seeing what someone else did and then adding your own spin, without needing to explain every little thing. Hashimoto gets that, for sure.