Here is a recent Plein Air painting I completed at Cal Club. I squint and or blur my eyes a lot to help
create stronger paintings.
A serious question to shapers and designers. Or just to us Joe Blow golf architecture lovers trying to understand why you love of hate a hole so much.
As shapes are roughed in, do you go back a number of yards and squint? I believe it helps you take in the whole scene and keeps you for focusing just one one element you may be working on. IE. To get overall feel of shapes and how they fit within the landscape. Be it bunkers, mounds, horizon lines, swales etc... Asking youself... Are they overwhelmed by whats around them? Do they strike a strong enough pose and draw your eye just right due to the contrast they impose?
In drawing and painting, squinting is a very helpful way to make your design stronger. By squinting your eyes as you look at the subject, you can eliminate a lot of the detail, making it much easier to see simple shapes and values. During construction you probably want to blur out a lot of the peripheral stuff that won't be part of the final product anyways...You’ll notice the shadows get darker and the highlights get lighter, which as a bonus can lead to more defined shapes. As with Artwork, Golf Design with great color/value contrast is very visually appealing – it sometimes makes the difference between a good work of art, and a great work of art.
And Secondly... have you built great features that are more or less the equivalent of Plein Air painting. Without prior planning or intent and working and creating directly in the field, choosing your subject on site, reacting to the forms around and creating them rapidly, Plein Air paintings are generally done in one session."
