The 6th hole, Lymm Golf Club (Commissioned)
Oil on linen canvas (90cm x 60cm).

I used my own reference photos and experimental sketches for this autumnal depiction of Lymm Golf Club’s beautiful golf course, featuring the long 6th hole which runs directly alongside the Manchester Ship Canal.

Cumulus clouds cast fleeting shadows on the fairways, and a breeze ruffles the surface of the water. I used an alla prima technique, mainly with palette knives, to help to convey a sense of movement. The predominance of the complementary colours of blue and orange adds to the vibrancy.

Lymm’s golf course was founded in 1907 through the initiative Alfred Watkin, a local businessman and golfing enthusiast who was involved in the development of the ship canal, and went on to become its chairman. In fact much of the golf course was built on spoil deposited from digging the waterway. Lymm, of which I am a proud playing member, is the only inland golf course in England that runs directly alongside a shipping lane.

Detail, bottom left: