Links at Dusk: Links Golf Painting

Look at the sky first. Big clouds roll across it in peach, lilac and deep navy, with a scatter of tiny gulls in the middle. Below, the sea runs out to a low headland. Then come the dunes, a green tucked between them, and a narrow stream winding through the sandy ground with a little wooden bridge across it. Marram grass sticks up in the front corner, blown sideways.

A links is a seaside course laid out on sandy ground, and a burn is the Scots word for a stream, which is what that water is. The painting is done in a loose plein-air style, meaning it looks as if it was painted outdoors, quickly, while the light was changing. The strokes are thick and you can see every one. It suits anyone who would sooner play in the wind than in a park, and it looks good in a hallway, a kitchen or a house near the sea.

The tall version gives the sky a lot of room. On canvas and framed canvas the wider shape trims the sky and the front grass, so the sea, the green, the burn and the bridge fill the frame. The mug shows the whole scene.