Side by Side (photo: Peter Smith)
Nancy Snipper
Peter Smith can’t recall which came first – swinging a
golf club or dabbing the paintbrush. But one thing is certain: the precision of
his putt is at par with his painting.
Both have played an integral part in his life for the past
35 years. His pursuits of the perfect landscape to paint and the perfect golf
course to play on have led him to the four corners of the world. Combining both
while traveling, he claims that the game of golf is not that far removed from
the art of painting.
“I’m always looking for perfection whether it’s in the
stroke on the golf course or the stroke of a paintbrush on canvas. Inevitably,
I rarely find that perfection, yet I know it’s there. In both, I have to
envisage and imagine what I’m striving for,” he says, having golfed and painted
landscapes in 37 countries. He has produced hundreds of paintings now hanging
in galleries and private collections all over the world, but you need not
travel far to enjoy the picturesque views he has captured – his paintings
can be seen in various store windows on Monkland and of course in his studio,
where private collectors gather.
Although he is an award-winning golfer and writer –
having published 15 books on golf and 14 on travel, plus countless articles
– Smith is far more intent on talking about the challenges of painting.
Peter Smith
“A painting is not like a photograph, which represents what
the eye sees. A painting is what the heart sees. I try to capture that sense of
enjoyment rather than a mere photographic image.”
He succeeds exquisitely. His paintings have a striking
quality of tranquility and timelessness. His vast azure skies are as
interesting as the demure trees that give way to the powerful horizon above
them. Nothing goes unnoticed by Smith – just as his eagle eye helps nail a
nine-iron, so too does it hone in on the minutest of details destined for his
landscapes. Look at his leaning boats in the painting Side by Side. It all
seems effortless, yet every shadow, texture and colour is filled with detail.
No matter the scene, each has an inherently neat, almost manicured look. The
effect is calming.
“For me, painting is a very peaceful activity that at the
same time demands concentration, just like golf. Interestingly, both involve
strategies. With golf, I have an end in mind and to get the score I want, I
need to use different tools and a plan according to the terrain and weather
conditions. Similarly for a painting, I know how I would like it to look. The
art is in achieving that end, through technique and feeling without compromising
spontaneity.”
Peter Smith is online
at peterdsmith.net.
Labels: Art, Nancy, Profiles
