I found a leftover narrow strip of Waterford 140 lb. watercolor paper that I turned into a 4-panel concertina booklet. Each section measures 3×5.5 inches. I thought it would be a fun challenge to create small watercolors as we made our way around the course. While Rob warmed up on the range, I recreated Old South’s logo on the first panel and captured the gator that loves to sunbathe on the small floating green in the pond by the clubhouse. The owners recently built another floating structure for the gators to use, but I understand they still prefer the green : )

Join me on my golf art journey…

The view to the right from the #3 tee box includes a field covered in wild sorrel / sourgrass, Rumex hastatulus, between holes 2 and 3. Its blooming season is almost past and has taken on a burnt sienna cast. When first blooming it’s strikingly cranberry in color. A real visual show-stopper! I couldn’t resist a double panel spread for this scene.

I then flipped the concertina over. Eventually, I’ll create covers for the two end panels, which leaves two center panels for more scenes. The left panel has one of my favorite views on the course; the trees that separate the landing area on the 7th hole from the marsh as viewed from the 6th green. The land mass in the background is Hilton Head Island.

Fox squirrels are all over the course. On our way between hole 7 and 8, one let me get real close for a photograph. For the rest of the front 9 and through the 10th, I worked from the photo on my phone, capturing the very cute fox squirrel perched a knobby section of a live oak. I’ve not finished the squirrel yet, but seeing the panel photographed, I may leave it as is. What do you think?

What I learned…

Yep, I was busy on the front 9! It felt good to have selected a small format
which allowed me to capture as much as I did.

Tip: Try this format on one of your outings. Or even as an everyday journal.
You’ll be surprised how your skills stay fresh and build when creating small studies. I
really enjoyed working on the Waterford paper. It’s been in my stash for many years.
It behaves a lot like Fabriano’s soft press paper, which I adore.
Much more forgiving than hot press and just enough tooth to behave
more like cold press, but smooth enough to accept pen lines.

Favorite View on the Back Nine

I enjoyed the scenery for most of the back nine. There was a bit of a wait on each hole. I painted the sky on a new sheet to prepare for the view I wanted to capture on 16. When we pulled up to the tee box, the group in front of us were making their way to the front of the landing area for their second shot over the marsh and onto the green. I jumped out of the cart and ran up to the rear of the landing area. I knew I had enough time to get the bones of the view of the marsh and green from the this vantage point. I was able to get a good bit of the scene down. The rest is from memory… thus why I dub the painting ‘Inspired by the 16th Green. I slept very well that night : )