Similar to golf course construction, fewer people are commissioning new golf art in this recessionary environment. Though work is thinner, the best artists find ways to stay productive and it is a pleasure to update the Art & Architecture section of GolfClubAtlas.com with ten of Mike Miller’s more recent works.
As always, the range of subjects is impressive, starting with the famous Newport clubhouse on up to a modern one of the third hole at MountainGate in the Santa Monica Mountains northwest of Los Angeles.
Which is your favorite? His wife’s favorite is the just completed 6th at Crooked Stick. To her eye, it represents the culmination of several decades of painting as it appeals to her on all levels: subject matter, composition, draftsmanship and color. She feels the serenity in the painting but notes that seeing this 32" x 44" painting in person has a much greater impact than on a computer screen.
Looking at the Crooked Stick painting, I am reminded of 12 years ago or so when I commissioned Mike to paint the 6th at Westward Ho! At the time, I had to BEG him to put the flag into the painting. During that period, he hated including anything man-made, right down to even the flag stick and flag! His views have softened on that as witnessed by the covered bridge, railroad ties etc. in the Crooked Stick painting. Of course, he can still go completely natural as seen by the absence of artificiality in the Half Moon Bay painting.
No coincidence that great courses readily lend themselves as subject matter for great paintings. The work above is entitled ‘After the Fog at Cypress #3’ and is 30” x 40”. As Mike notes, ‘The third at Cypress Point heads the golfer away from the coast and into the forest. While not as demanding as many MacKenzie par 3's, this hole still requires precision and patience. The big sand dune to the left and the trees in the distance serve as harbingers of some of what is to come at one of America's most beautiful course.’
In trying to come up with a favorite of his new ones, I recall our various conversations from years ago when I would stop in his studio in LA. He would always be fussing over a sky and I know how much time he sinks into them. In fact, in the relatively small circle of golf course painters, I think he is particularly well known for his skies, which may sound weird but is true nonetheless. My favorite sky of the new ones is probably the one in the tiny terror par three at LA North (and of course the hole looks great too!). As an aside, that would discount the two Augusta paintings from being personal favorites.
What are your likes/dislikes and favorites of his work?
Cheers,