New Paintings

Here are some new pieces I thought you would enjoy.

1. The R and A clubhouse.

2. The 16th at Cabot Links.

3. The 12th at Ballyneal.

We are creating limited edition giclees (30 pieces) on canvas of several new pictures. Please contact Nick Green @ nick@macduffconsulting.com if you would like to find out more.

Excitement of Plein Air

Painting Outdoors is a very exciting challenge. I remember a few years ago thinking that I would always be a studio oil painter. Hearing experts say that the best way to evolve your oil paintings for the better is to paint Plein Air. I believed them, but had no plans to start. Upon further review... I have started and it has to be one of the best hobbies ever. A cool wooden box and tripod. Surveying the potential landscapes and the decisiveness you must have to narrow it to one particular scene in the landscape and then figure out how you will crop it. The quick layout of that crop. The serenity of being alone in nature. The rapid pace that you work at in order to take in all that the scene offers before the lighting changes. Deciding when you are finished. And leaving with a great souvenir that will last forever and be a great start/sample if you choose to paint something larger of the same scene. How many millions of color combinations exist in Nature? I hope to narrow that down month by month over the years and find new colors to put up on canvas. Here are Plein Airs number 9 and 10. Buoys await at Lake Tahoe

A view of Pacific Grove, CA

Cheers... Josh Smith

A Streamsong Blue Story

Tom Doak's wonderfully rugged new course at Streamsong.


What a fantastic hole !! The photo above depicts the par three 5th hole, a mid-length one shotter with plenty going on. It will leave an indelible mark on your golfing memory bank after you see it. Left is an absolute no-no as it drops 30 feet down towards the previous hole. To me it does the best job of linking Streamsong to its ancient golfing roots. Namely, the staggered layout of the small bunkers with their peaked and tattered edges, the low profile "non framed" backdrop and the ultra random shape and undulation that the long slender green follows.


Here you see Tom walking the breadth of the 5th green again in afternoon light to show where all the unique pin locations are and their respective elevations. I had the good fortune of previewing the course on his invite, he flew me out from California in order to scout out Oil Paining possibilities for him, of which there are many. It was a dream of mine to play golf with Tom at some point and I am so thrilled that it happened in this forum. Wind will surely be a factor on this hole and with the depth of the green calling for a possible 4 club alteration in the absence of wind, one can only imagine the fun that will ensue. It may be a great hole to try to hit putter off the tee and take the wind completely out. ;) This photo may end up an oil painting coming soon. Oh yeah, this resort will open in 2012 and will also feature the Red course, a Coore and Crenshaw 18 holes interwoven with the Blue.

The Prairie Club...renderings for Tom Lehman

If you are sitting in KFC having lunch and your phone lets you know you have a new voice mail, by all means check it. And if you hear the familiar tv voice of British Open champion Tom Lehman on that message? You ask for a doggie bag and get to a quiet spot and call him back immediately.



Three weeks earlier, I introduced myself to Tom when he was checking in on the restoration of Cal Club during construction. He was one of the qualified architects who was up for the job before it was awarded to Kyle Phillips.

Tom saw a few of my paintings later that day and asked me to come back and chat about them. He then asked me if I had ever painted a course that didn't exist yet...the rest is history. I flew to meet Tom in Valentine, Nebraska twice to drive around the virgin sand hills property. Below is a rendering I did of what Tom and Chris Brands figured the first hole should look like. At the bottom of the page you will find the finished product from a slightly different angle. A very fun project to be involved with. I truly appreciated the opportunity and the chance to meet Tom. He is as down to earth as you may have heard. Thanks Tom.

The par four first hole at The Prairie Club (dunes)





Next lets look forward to the Old School course that will be built at The Prairie Club, by 2016 Olympics golf designer Gil Hanse.

See you soon,

Josh

Streamsong Golf

Red Course @ Streamsong Golf, photo by Keith Rhebb

Just returned from a fantastic trip to preview the Streamsong Golf Club's 36 holes. After having a Rock Creek Cattle Company trip postponed last year as well as a Cabot Links visit pushed into the future, it was great to get the wheels up and research some upcoming oil paintings at this "Instant Classic". The Red course is built by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and the Blue course is built by Tom Doak. This resort will WOW any golf lovers who find it. The courses are slated to open late this year and are open to the public. To have 36 built on amazing sand dunes and representing some of the best work of Doak and Coore Crenshaw is truly "Bandon Like". The terrain is like a combination Sand Hills of Nebraska and Lost Dunes of Tasmania, Aus, with some large lakes scattered around the property.
My trip was sponsored by Tom Doak with the thought of doing a couple of oil paintings. Took hundreds of photos, but will start it off with an amazing construction photo taken by Coore Crenshaw shaper/photographer Keith Rhebb.

This is a photo of the Red. Keith was kind enough to tour me around the Red course after I had the opportunity to play the Blue with T. Doak. It is going to be hard to compare these two. I don't really see the need, they are both winners. Will post some of my photos soon of both courses.

Cheers.

Josh CF Smith

Renaissance Cup, Old Macdonald and Bandon Dunes

Not to confuse you...This photo is one I took of the new Conservation Course at Bandon Dunes. Now, enough about that...

Every year Tom Doak hosts an invitational tournament for friends and colleagues at a course that he has designed or improved. The point is to unveil some new work and glean feedback from those in attendance. You partner up with one person and play fourball scratch 9 hole matches. Previous winners have included Ben Crenshaw, Mike Keiser, Fred Muller to name a few. It isn't the easiest invite to procure...and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I had hopes of someday getting the chance to play. To my surprise, a timely email to Tom on another subject unfolded into an invitation to play in my first Renaissance Cup hosted at Old Macdonald at Bandon Dunes. It was really a great time, we even upset the "ringer" team and won our first match. What a fun course to play Match Play on !!! Got a chance to meet a few other like minded ladies and fellows and as a bonus spent a beautiful morning walking around the new Conservation Course at Bandon. It is a quaint little, 13 hole par three course that Coore and Crenshaw draped over "linksy" dunes overlooking the Pacific. I cannot wait to return to play it and paint it, along with Old Macdonald.

A Painting of Tenth at Bel Air Country Club

The Tenth at Bel Air C.C. nearly finished. Been busy the last couple of months working on this Oil of Bel Air C.C. This is a painting for the current back to back club champion. It is a view from up on a the balcony above the dining room. I've always enjoyed capturing architecture assuming it really adds to the texture and beauty of the scene. Many golf lovers are drawn to historic structures such as this famous bridge at Bel Air. Other iconic structures that we love, of course are, The Windmill at NGLA, the halfway house at Pine Valley, The Clubhouse at Cypress Point, Royal and Ancient at St. Andrews, The Clubhouse at Shinnecock Hills, and so on. Hopefully I will continue to have the opportunity to paint all of these. They are almost logos in their natural state.

Happy Friday,

Josh