Simplifying my theme

I am a CSS ileterate so pardon me if I ask silly questions. I am building a very simple portfolio website with WordPress. I basically want only 1 page with an nextgen gallery (showing thumbnails all across the screen). I do not need any sidebars at all. I don’t really know how to edit the style sheets to get rid of the columns/sidebars. Originally I picked this theme: http://michaeltauschinger.net/cgi/ (Simplicity by Kochwerkstatt).
I actually want to get rid of almost everything minus the ABOUT button and the main page, and maybe one for a blog or a resume link. How do I do that, or is there a theme that would fit my specific need better. I need something simple and sleek.