My favorite time of the day on the Farm Neck golf course is the morning. I feel the cool air move as the sun rises over the trees, watch early golfers enjoying the quiet surroundings and follow the rolling landscape, which leads from one beautiful scene to another. It's very pleasing for an artist as everywhere I turn there are just the right design elements to make an eye-catching composition, so I go from green to green and imagine what a golfer might like to see captured in oils.
In the afternoon there is another, warmer light as the sun - first overhead and then settling to the west - brings out both the bright and subtle shadings in the trees and plantings that flow around the course. Dark pines are a perfect foil for the bright and beautifully maintained greens.
It is a privilege to be asked to paint this lovely part of the Island. I find in it all the elements that bring me such delight as a Vineyard artist. I paint in oils, particularly portraiture and landscape, where my challenge is to capture the character as well as the likeness of a person or place. In Farm Neck I found a wonderful variety of subject and texture, with gorgeous lines all around and a peaceful feeling of well-designed space.
Many thanks to the wonderful Farm Neck staff and to the golfers I encountered on my travels, all of whom were friendly, helpful and kept me out of harm's way as I ventured forth in search of just the right vantage point.
Elizabeth Whelan first came to Martha's Vineyard as a graphic designer and illustrator, building a successful business before turning to fine art. Nowadays, Elizabeth concentrates on portrait and landscape painting, with all-subjects-Vineyard closest to her heart. Her public unveilings of well-known Islanders have delighted art lovers and her work has been shown at many Island locales. View samples of her paintings at www.elizabeth-whelan.com.