The View from the Tee

Sometimes a new painting project starts in the studio. Sometimes it starts in a business planning conversation!

Machrihanish | 3rd Hole | Pen on Post-it Note

This new project came about during a discussion with my Business Gateway strategy adviser about potential markets for my work and new ways of reaching people who might connect with my paintings.

We started talking about golf, and particularly Scotland’s links courses. It got us thinking about the coastal views you get from these courses. The stretches of shoreline, the changing light and the sea beyond the fairways. A slightly different way of looking at the Scottish landscape, but one that fits naturally with the things I already love to paint.

Having spent 24 years working in financial services before becoming a full-time artist, I still have a pretty extensive professional network on LinkedIn. I know plenty of people from that world who love their golf, so it seemed like a good place to start.

I put out a question asking for recommendations of Scottish golf courses with great sea views, and the response was brilliant. So far, 35 courses have been suggested, with Machrihanish coming out on top, followed by Winterfield in Dunbar. Gullane and North Berwick were also popular recommendations. There’s already quite a list to work through!

The idea is to create a new body of work inspired by the coastal views from Scottish golf courses. I’m not looking to paint golf as such, but the landscape you see from the course; the sweep of a beach, the colours of the water, distant headlands and those moments when you stop to take in the view.

The plan is to visit as many of these courses as I can, taking photographs and making sketches along the way. It also gives me a rather good excuse to explore more of Scotland, with a few overnight stays potentially finding their way into the plans.

I’d love you to help shape the project.

Have you played a Scottish links course with a particularly memorable view of the sea? Is there a favourite hole or tee where you always stop to take in the scenery? Perhaps you have photographs from a round that capture a view you think I should see.

I’d love to hear your recommendations and, even better, see your photographs. They don’t need to be professional pictures, phone photos are absolutely fine. It’s the view I’m interested in!

You can leave a comment below, get in touch through my website or send me a message on Instagram.

I’m looking forward to discovering some new places, seeing the coastline from a different perspective and finding out where this project takes me. And who knows, your favourite course might just make it onto my painting itinerary!

Gullane No 1 | 3rd Tee | Pen on Post-it Note