"Haig" -the great Walter Hagen

Here is a recent drawing I created of one of my favorite all time golfing greats, Walter Hagen. It was made using a wax crayon (pencil) on paper, scanned into Photoshop, and then layered on top of textures of color I had also created with gouache painted on paper and also scanned into Photoshop. It's a simple shaped vignette that adds to the character of the image.

Walter Hagen -by Steven Salerno

Visit stevensalerno.com to view my work in illustration and children's picture books, and visit sasgolf.com to view my available golf art prints.

new drawing of Arnold Palmer...

Posted here is one of my most recent drawings... this one being yet another image of one of my favorite players of all time, Arnold Palmer. 

I created the image, first by drawing the figure of Palmer using black oil crayon... just a straight forward traditional rendering... then I scanned my drawing into Photoshop where I digitally manipulated the black color of the crayon drawing so that it was now a saturated blue. Then I added a hyper-flesh tone to his face, hands and arms with a digital brush. The last steps were to embed the drawing onto the background which is comprised of distressed paint on a wood panel, which also included the stenciled lettering of PALMER. The resulting "look" is of a traditionally conceived drawing, but the manipulations and layering in Photoshop gave it a modern pop feel overall, representing that Mr. Palmer was a link between older traditions and values to the contemporary game of today. 

drawing of Arnold Palmer by artist Steven Anthony Salerno  -visit sasgolf.com

Of the many top players to have played the game past and present, a handful of them, due mostly to their achievements on the golf course and their charisma, but also multiplied by their achievements in business, their charitable contributions, and the omnipresence of their likeness on television, the web, in books, magazines, and for endorsement advertising campaigns... actually transcend from star athlete, to star celebrity, to being a cultural icon... and for some fans (like myself) they take on mythical status. Mr. Palmer is one such golfer. 

When I was a kid growing up in Vermont back, in the early 1970's Arnold Palmer opened his golf academy at the Stratton Mountain ski and golf resort in the southern end of the state. That first summer they operated a summer instructional camp for teens... the cost of which was way beyond my family's means. However, the academy had a spot open for a couple "local Vermont kids" via a tournament (or was it just a lottery, I cannot remember) but my 17 year old older brother won one of the spots ... and got to attend the 2 week golf camp free of charge, room/board and instruction! (his roommate during the camp was J.P. Getty's grandson!)

I remember that my brother came back from the golf academy two weeks later having lost his extremely strong grip! No small feat! I was impressed. Eventually though, it did creep back into his swing mechanics. But hey, later (as an adult) he still somehow managed to shoot a round of 64(!) at his golf club even despite his strong grip... and win a handful of club championships as well! Never judge a book by its cover! 

The opening day of the academy Arnold Palmer flew in and gave a clinic for the teens attending the summer camp (and their family and guests), plus he then played a nine-hole exhibition on the Stratton mountain course. For me (at about age 14 at the time) it was a heavenly experience to witness such a great golfer play the game up close... and I am sure my getting to actually meet Arnold Palmer in person was the spark that eventually lead to me drawing and painting the greats of the game, and not just images of golfscapes only. 

Visit sasgolf.com to view all my available golf art prints.

Portrait of Ernie Els

portrait of Ernie Els by Steven Anthony Salerno visit sasgolf.com

I recently completed a small portrait of World Golf Hall of Fame golfer, South African Ernie Els... shown hoisting the Claret Jug upon winning the 2012 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, his fourth major championship victory. Now being the holder of four majors places Mr. Els into pretty rare company, as only 27 players in the entire history of the game have ever won four or more major championships. (and we all know that Jack Nicklaus hold the record with 18 majors and Tiger Woods is in a not so distant second with 14 majors)

I created this portrait painting using pencil, crayon, acrylics and gouache on Arches 260 lb hot press paper. In 2012 I had completed a series of "signature hole" golfscape paintings for Ernie Els Design (his golf course architecture company) which you can view at sasgolf.com in the Ernie Els project section.

I usually prefer doing "swing portraits" of players, rather than straight forward "portraits" simply because I enjoy expressing my knowledge of the golf swing and also capturing the unique look of an individual's swing... but in this instance, I actually could not locate sufficient reference photos to my liking of Mr. Els in action during the final round of the 2012 Open Championship... but the multitude of photos of him after winning and hoisting the Claret Jug caught my eye, as they radiated his sheer joy in winning his 4th major championship. So I used about 5 different photos as reference to construct my own art image... simplifying and editing out folds and wrinkles in clothing, adding or eliminating shadows, repositioning his pose, etc... all the multitude of actions required when using static photo reference to create an organic drawing and painting artwork. 

Visit sasgolf.com to view all my available limited edition golf art prints.

"Signature Hole" golfscapes for Ernie Els Design

About a year and a half ago I was contacted by Phil Cotton, a business manager for professional golfer Ernie Els. I think most golf fans know that the South African Mr. Els, AKA: "The Big Easy," is the winner of 4 Major Championship victories, as well as a recent World Golf Hall of Fame inductee. Phil and I discussed possibilities of me creating a series of original golf art images for a number of Els projects, one of which being "signature hole" golfscapes to be used to advertise a number of golf courses around the world designed by Ernie Els Design.

About a month ago this "signature hole" project finally became a reality... and so once the contract was resolved, and the specific golf courses and their corresponding "signature holes" were established, I was off and running with the first image.

The Wentworth Club outside of London, England was my first subject. Their venerable West Course was originally designed by Harry S. Colt back in the 1920's, and then redesigned/modified by Ernie Els and his design company in 2008-2011. I had my choice of depicting one of several different signature holes from the course, but I selected the 18th hole because I thought it to be a beautiful looking golfscape, plus it was the hole that had undergone the most significant design changes, and also because its redesign had been the most controversial. Mr. Els took a lot of criticism over his redesign of this specific 18th hole. Apparently it had been a relatively short par 5 which yielded quite a few eagles and near certain birdies for the the top professionals. Then, Mr. Els transformed it into a longer par 5 with a smallish green protected by a new devilish lateral water hazard that fits tightly along the entire length of the left side of the green, making players think more than twice about going for the green in 2 shots... In other words, it stirred up the hornet's nest of player opinion, I guess especially with those who had previously enjoyed unmolested eagles.


I have never played the hole personally... but have seen the hole in championship play on television, and the redesigned hole indeed makes for very exciting action. If a player (with the length and confidence) hits and holds the green in just 2 shots, it is indeed a very, very good shot that could possibly be then rewarded with a rare eagle. And the option of laying up requires executing a crisp, very accurate wedge 3rd shot, navigating the creek which tightly skirts the green, especially if the flagpin is set on the left side. To me it seemed like a design improvement befitting an 18th hole for a course staging professional championship caliber events.

Putting the hole's "playability" issue aside.... from my visual aesthetic viewpoint (comparing the old 18th hole photos to the newly redesigned 18th hole), I far prefer the look of the new 18th hole based on a purely sculptural characteristics. Put another way, if the 18th hole still looked the way it did before the redesign by Els and company, I probably would not have chosen it to be the subject of my "signature hole" art image. The creek that splits the fairway then glides alongside the green gives the hole better visual definition and character.

sketch of 18th hole at Wentworth.   visit sasgolf.com

Seen above is my early preliminary rough sketch of the 18th hole... created with pastel, crayon, and gouache. Ideally I would prefer to be on-site to make sketches and take my own reference photos, but in the case of this project I had to work from photos supplied to me by Ernie Els Design.

painting of 18th hole at Wentworth.   visit sasgolf.com

Here is my finished painting of the 18th hole (with the distinctive clubhouse building seen in the far background up on the hill beyond the green). The final completed painting was created with pastel, crayon, and gouache on Arches 260lb hot press paper, with composited layering done in Photoshop. The "story" I envisioned in my head while executing the art was that it is the last light of the day as you play the 18th hole, and it had been a gray, drizzly afternoon and finally the blue sky appears in patches. 

close-up of painting of 18th hole at Wentworth.   visit sasgolf.com

A closer view of the green area... you can see how dangerously close the lateral water hazard fits against the green. In this painting I particularly like how I painted the background bank of trees in a loose impressionistic manner. By depicting mere suggestions of trees without much detail at all, it allows the specific detailing of the green, flagstick and the hazard's wooden piling just in front of the green to focus the viewer's attention there. 

Shown above are three under-painting "stage" views of the painting image in progress....
1: pastel roughing out the shapes of the fairway and tree masses. 2: painting a layer on top with gouache to better define areas and tones. 3: beginning to sharpen the  areas and shapes with more detail. 

drawing of 18th green at Wentworth.   visit sasgolf.com

Above is a second art image I created also of the 18th green at Wentworth, seen from a rear/side angle looking back down the 18th fairway. I purposely executed the drawing in deep browns, blacks and rose color, all to heighten the danger of the lurking water hazard. I also chose this angle so the viewer could really see just how steep the embankment down into the water hazard truly is.

drawing of 18th green at Wentworth.   visit sasgolf.com

Above is a closer view of the 18th green drawing.

There are other "signature hole" art images from the Ernie Els Design project still to come, so check back again in a month or so. The next hole I will be creating an art image of -is on the opposite side of the planet from Wentworth!


Visit SASgolf.com to see all my golf art prints available, however the Wentworth signature hole art images are not available in a limited edtion golf art print, well, not yet anyway...  

"The Opening Tee Shot"

"The Opening Tee Shot" by Steven Anthony Salerno. Visit SASgolf.com

"The Opening Tee Shot" by Steven Anthony Salerno. Visit SASgolf.com

I recently released a new limited edition golf art print, available on my site SASgolf.com, entitled, "The Opening Tee Shot." 

This nostalgic drawing depicts an early 1930's scene from the North South Women's Championship, held at Pinehurst, with one of the top ranked female players of the day hitting her opening drive off the 1st tee. The sizable gallery intently watches the flight of the ball. With a minimal, impressionistic background of a hazy fairway and shadowy bank of pine trees, this drawing also has over a hundred and thirty distinct characters in the gallery, seen in their period fedoras, caps, suits, furs, dresses, and knickers... with the player on the tee at center stage, poised in her lanky follow through, looking equally fashionable. The original art was created with pastel, crayon, and gouache on paper, with added digital color enhancements.

Posted here is a full view, as well as a close-up detail of the main player hitting her drive. 

fourteen red shirts (a new golf art print of Tiger Woods)

"fourteen red shirts" by golf artist Steven Anthony Salerno     -visit SASgolf.com

Back in 2009, when the PGA Tour's official web site pgatour.com was showcasing many of my golf art portraits of top Tour players in their Player Spotlight feature section... I had started a somewhat ambitious "portrait" of Tiger Woods, which was going to consist of fourteen very small gouache & watercolor paintings (each one is only about 3.5" tall) of the (then) world # 1 ranked player. The concept for this art image was to depict Tiger Woods in his recognizable Sunday red shirt from each of the final rounds of his 14 major championship victories... but I didn't finish the project, and put the paintings aside, some finished, but many were not. Then, a couple weeks ago I finally decided to go ahead and finish all these small paintings... wanting the resulting piece, a new limited edition golf print entitled "fourteen red shirts" to express my view that Tiger is still a top contender and still the one to chase down the record for the most major championship victories held by Jack Nicklaus. 

(detail view) "14 red shirts" by golf artist Steven Anthony Salerno     -visit SASgolf.com

From a graphic standpoint the art print is a simple grid of the 14 little vignette portraits of the star player. Each pose depicts his swing, putt, or stride -from the actual final round action of the corresponding major championship event, as well as the specific style red shirt he was wearing when he won the tournament that day. Underneath each painting is text giving the year and site of the event. At the bottom of the print I purposely left some blank spaces, to pointedly imply that Tiger's record of 14 majors is not going to end there... he will certainly be adding more major victories. When people view my print "fourteen red shirts" I know some will read an opposite meaning to the blank spaces... that Tiger has imploded and his major record will remain at 14. Time will only prove them wrong.

A lot has transpired for Tiger from the time I first started the paintings in 2009 (he was still ranked #1), to when I recently completed them in 2011 (Tiger is now ranked about #17th in the world), all which has required him to catch his emotional footing and to redefine himself. Relative to his quest to reach and possibly surpass the record of 18 major championship victories, Tiger's fall from grace, injury, and the simultaneous rise of new younger players has lead many to believe Tiger's magical momentum is not just interrupted, but gone. A better person arises when getting up after a fall... so don't count him out. Tiger is young, his body will repair itself. He will continue to regain stability within his personal and public life...

(detail view) "14 red shirts" by golf artist Steven Anthony Salerno     -visit SASgolf.com

So, whether it is later this year, or next year, or even the year after, at some point Tiger Woods is going to start playing well again...and when he does, his experience of 71 victories and 14 major championships is going to kick back in. He is a different person now, and will have to find a corresponding different way to get it done on the course... I suspect in a similar manner to when Hogan had to find a new way to win again after a major car accident altered his personal landscape. Can Tiger win at the same pace he did before? The answer is no, but does it really matter? If my math serves me correctly, to date as a professional, Tiger has played in about 61 majors and won 14 of them... an astounding win rate of about 23%! 

Hypothetically, let's assume that Tiger does not play in the remaining majors of 2011. So, at age 36, if Tiger then plays in every major until he is 46 years old (the same age that Nicklaus won his last major championship), this is 40 more major events in which to compete. Therefore,Tiger will need to win 10% (4 victories) of these remaining 40 events to tie Nicklaus. Most players would love to win 4 majors in their entire career, so as a mere "next segment" of Tiger's golfing career, a task of winning 4 more majors could seem daunting if not impossible... but considering he has the experience of already winning 14 out 61 majors, it begins to seem possible that such a great player could now go on to win 4 out of the next 40 majors. There is also the possibility that Tiger could effectively contend in even more majors, until he is 50 years old (channeling the spirit of Sam Snead) which would mean he'd only have to win 4 out of the next 56 major events to tie the Nicklaus record.

(detail view) "14 red shirts" by golf artist Steven Anthony Salerno     -visit SASgolf.com

At age 22 Rory McIlroy just won his first major championship. And understandably the critics are already predicting he could very well be the next superstar player to attack the Nicklaus majors record. Again, using the age of 46 as a hypothetical "competitive stop date" for competing in majors, if Rory plays in every major for the next 24 years (96 events), he will have to win about 18% of them to attain a total of 18 majors by the age of 46. There is sound reasoning at this early stage to believe that Rory's amazing talents could make this all happen... but if one can imagine such a magnificent future career arc for Rory, one would also have to concede that 4 wins out of 40 for the likes of a Tiger Woods is just as distinct a possibility as well. 

Whatever transpires, golf fans are in for some amazing championship tournament golf over the next couple decades, and Mr. Jack Nicklaus could still be sitting on top when the dust clears. 

This new golf art print, "fourteen red shirts" signed and numbered by artist Steven Anthony Salerno is available in an exclusive edition (limited to only 100 prints) at SASgolf.com in the "exclusive edition" gallery. Each print is printed on 100% cotton archival fine art paper with vivid permanent pigment inks.

Wingtips & Practice, Practice, Practice

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE by Steven Anthony Salerno -available at SASgolf.com

WINGTIPS by Steven Anthony Salerno -available at SASgolf.com

This week I offered two more limited edition prints on my golf gallery site, SASgolf.com -both being fun, pop graphic images. The first print, entitled WINGTIPS is a boldly drawn close-up view of a player wearing bright blue wingtip golf shoes stroking a putt, that hopefully ends with the ball successfully in the bottom of the cup! The second print, entitled PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE is a simple graphic depiction of some golfers all in a row at the driving range, in various stages of their swings beating balls... with the definition of the word practice embedded within the art image.


These two prints can be seen in the golf graphix gallery section of SASgolf.com and are both available in two different print sizes, 11x17 and 13x19.

2012 US Women's Open Championship at Blackwolf Run

full view of "Mercy"   visit sasgolf.com

detail view of "Mercy"   visit sasgolf.com

In February of this year I was contacted by Whistling Straits's GM/Director of Golf, Jim Richerson. As you know, Whistling Straits (in Kohler, Wisconsin) hosted the 2010 PGA Championship, won by Germany's Martin Kaymer in a play-off. 

Jim discussed with me the fact that the 2012 US Women's Open Championship (conducted by the USGA) will be hosted at Blackwolf Run, which is the 36 hole sister complex next to Whistling Straits, and also part of The American Club Resort, owned by the Kohler Company. Blackwolf Run has two courses: the Meadow Valleys Course and the River Course, though, the 2012 US Women's Open Championship will be played on "The Original Championship Course," which is comprised of select holes from both the Meadow Valleys Course and the River Course. Jim explained that their committee was looking for a golf artist to create golf art images for the upcoming championship event, and I was on their short list along with a couple other artists. He asked if I would submit a bid proposal...

So, I put together my fee proposal, containing not only my suggestions for what art images to create, and for what specific uses (e.g. event poster, limited edition prints, merchandise items, etc...), but I also included numerous samples of my limited edition golf prints. The added touch to the proposal was that I specially created two new "golfscape" drawings depicting a couple holes from their Meadow Valleys Course... holes which will be part of the "Original Championship Course" the women competitors will compete on in 2012.

Posted here is print of a drawing I created of their 15th hole, a par three which is named "Mercy." It was created with crayon and pastel and added digital color. (posted is the full view and a detail).

There has not been a decision yet on which artist they will select... so I am hoping it was fall my way. It would be a fun project to be associated with.

" 9/64" Measurement of a Golfer

visit sasgolf.com to view this golf art print and many others...

"9/64" -the numbers seen within the art print of golfing legend Ben Hogan is not a mysterious measurement nor a mathematical fraction... it is his professional golfing career record: 9 major championships and 64 PGA Tour victories. The most impressive detail of Mr. Hogan's history is he survived a near-fatal automobile accident at age 36 and afterwards went on to win 6 more major championships. (you may have to click on the image above to see the full composition)


This new golf art print from artist Steven Anthony Salerno is now available at sasgolf.com in the "exclusive edition" gallery. The original art was created with crayon, pastel, and gouache on paper with digital wood grain effects. Only 50 of these superbly reproduced golf art prints are available (17"x22" size) in the limited edition. Printed in the artist's studio using brilliant permanent pigment inks on archival 100% cotton rag based fine art papers, visit sasgolf.com to learn more about these limited edition prints. 

Tiger in 2011... Q: Can He Attain Major #15?

(click on image to see full size)        Visit sasgolf.com to view limited edition golf prints by artist Steven Anthony Salerno

Short answer: Yes.

In 2011 Tiger is set to add yet another major championship to his current list of 14 major titles. Of course, now there are several new top competitors on the scene with the ability to nab a major, so from this point forward getting into the major winner's circle again is going to be an even more difficult task for the man in red, but he will get it done. I don't think we will see Tiger winning majors by quite such large margins as he has done in the past. Those days are gone, but it only takes one less stroke than the closest competitor in a championship to attain the victory anyway, so what does it really matter what the winning margin might be?

The other top contenders don't have what Tiger does, which is the momentum of being on a powerful inside track to break the Jack Nicklaus record of 18 majors. Tiger is still the ONE, and it's an advantage. Some may argue that Tiger's momentum has been stripped away due to his personal upheaval over the past year. This momentum has merely skipped a beat. It's still there, and well in tact.

People want Tiger to win more major championships. They want to see him rise up, and be the one who surpasses a seemingly unattainable record. With a fresh current of energy from the golfing public helping to once again propel Tiger forward, combined with the fact he is in the prime of his golfing powers including immense experience to draw upon, getting into the major winner's circle again (and again) is inevitable.

My artwork posted here originally appeared in the Player Spotlight feature section on pgatour.com, the official web site of the PGA Tour, and depicts Tiger in his putting pose. Since showing his Sunday red shirt alone visually informs the viewer that it is Tiger Woods, I purposely did not even show his face, to push the minimalist effect of the composition. To the side are his current stats: 14 majors and 71 tournament victories, which has remained the same over the past year since he did not get a win in 2010. (you may have to click on the above art image to see the full composition)

Look for those stats to tick upward in 2011...

Visit my on-line golf gallery at sasgolf.com, where you can purchase signed, limited edition golf art prints.

Interview with golf artist Steven Anthony Salerno

I was recently interviewed via Skype by golf blogger Ralph Perez in New York City. Here is the link to that interview on gothamgolfblog
...and my golf art also got a mention on the armchairgolfblog, thanks to the editor Neil Sagebiel. You can see the brief article here.

Seve Ballesteros -a new golf art print available on sasgolf.com

see more golf prints at sasgolf.com

see more golf prints at sasgolf.com

(5/7/2011)

Note: Seve Ballesteros died on May 7th, 2011, from ongoing complications due to brain cancer surgeries he underwent back in 2009)

. . .

I recently completed a small gouache painting on paper of one of my favorite players of all time to watch play the game, Seve Ballesteros of Spain. It is available on my gallery site, sasgolf.com as a limited edition print. 

Severiano “Seve” Ballesteros of Spain, with 87 wins worldwide, including 5 major championship victories (2 Masters and 3 British Open Championships) is one of the most bold, and charismatic players to have ever graced championship golf. From humble beginnings as a boy in the town of Santander practicing hitting shots along the sandy beaches, to being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1997... as well as surviving brain tumor surgery in 2009 at age 52, the golfer and the man is admired by millions of fans all around the world.

The image was created using red as the dominant color theme, to represent his passion and strength exhibited on and off the course. It was executed using brush and gouache on paper, and added digital enhancements.

2010... A very long year for Tiger Woods

see Steven Anthony Salerno's golf prints at sasgolf.com

Back in July of this year, I was commissioned by GolfWorld magazine to create a painting to accompany their BUNKER column article on Tiger Wood's onslaught by the media during 2010 and more specifically how he may now need to be more accessible with reporters than in past years. Since the article was appearing in the issue surrounding the British Open, I depicted Tiger as a lone figure within a battered castle, his TW flag tattered in the relentless wind.

I wonder if Tiger did indeed feel like the depiction in my art image during the course of the past twelve months. He probably did at some point, but 2010 is coming to a close now... and time and effort does indeed heal all wounds, bringing new opportunities. Tiger, as with many of us, are definitely looking forward to 2011 being a much better year.

Undoubtedly Tiger will be more balanced in every way in the new year, so certainly a victory (or two, or three) is lurking around the next couple corners for him. Yes, in the past year the roster of superb players with the capability to win the big tournaments during the Tiger-Void has grown longer. (names like Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell come to mind) Although having one major under your belt is a supreme achievement and both players cited will certainly not be limited to just one, but when a veteran player with FOURTEEN majors under his belt begins to prowl near the top of the leader board again (who is a mere 35 years young), it is still all the others players who'll have the most pressure to contend with.

new print release: "Sir Walter"

Here is my new limited edition print in the "greatest golfers" gallery on my golf art site... of American Walter Hagen ("The Haig") the flamboyant star who had 44 wins throughout his career from 1914 through the mid-1930's, which included 11 majors championship victories... third in total majors behind Jack Nicklaus with 18, and Tiger Woods currently with 14 and counting. Walter Hagen was the supreme match-play player, and often arrived for a match against his opponent by pulling up to the first tee in a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce at the last minute. My favorite quote about Hagen: "...He could relax sitting on a hot stove." (-Tommy Armour, The American Golfer 1935).

I created this striking print by overlapping my gouache painting of Hagen with vertical strips from a grainy newspaper photo of the golfer from about 1919... The result is a contemporary image which imbues a sense of the the colorful showmanship Hagen brought to the game that elevated the public perception of a professional golfer to that of a celebrity, but also suggests the time period in which he played the game.

This new golf art print by artist Steven Anthony Salerno is available in a limited edition at sasgolf.com

new print release: "She Loved To Play Golf"

This week I released another new golf art image available as a limited edition print. This graphic scene depicts a fashionable, determined, young woman golfer from the early 1920's era dressed in white, and posed in her follow-through... The vibrant, pop colors of deep orange, raspberry and aqua-green gives the print a very modern feel. The French sentence embedded within the art translates as: She Loved To Play Golf. I created it with gouache on paper, then modified the color hues and balances digitally to arrive at the final print image.

This new golf art print by artist Steven Anthony Salerno is available in a limited edition at sasgolf.com

PEBBLE -latest print release

In June of this year, the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links will host the US Open Championship for a fifth time. (1972 winner Jack Nicklaus, 1982 winner Tom Watson, 1992 winner Tom Kite, 2000 winner Tiger Woods) The print image shown here is my tribute to the championship event being held at Pebble and depicts an idealized windswept green along the Monterey Peninsula coastline, the flagstick bending in the breeze, and a wide view of gathering clouds above the Pacific Ocean. A lone cypress tree becomes the image's focal point.

I created the entire image on a digital drawing tablet with vector-based Adobe Illustrator software. Even though it has beautiful soft blends of colors and gradations, it still has a crisp and minimal graphic look, quite like lithographic travel posters from the 1930's and '40's.

This print has three different type version choices: one with bold red & tan type, the other with simpler black & white type... or a third option is just the image alone without any type.

This new golf art print by artist Steven Anthony Salerno is available in a limited edition at sasgolf.com

Steven Anthony Salerno opens his web golf art gallery

I've been a professional illustrator all my adult life... and have played golf since I was a young boy. I played well enough as a teenager to win the Vermont State Junior Amateur Championship, and as a young man worked in the golf business for several years, first as an Assistant Professional at the Yale University Golf Club, then at Racebrook Country Club, both in Connecticut. During that time I was also a registered apprentice in the PGA, passing their playing ability test (PAT) and also completing the first stage of their business school.

In my illustration career I create images for clients in magazines, advertising, children's picture books, product packaging, etc... However the golf drawings, paintings and graphics I also created over the years were made just for myself, never as an assignment for a commercial client. Very few people knew I even created golf related images.

In 2009 the US Open conducted by the USGA was to be played at the Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, Long Island, just a short distance outside of Manhattan (NYC) where I live. The Black Course is a course I've played before, so I decided to create a pretend design of a US Open/Black Course poster just for the fun of it. I created one, then another and another... having such a fun time that in the end I created seven different "mock" poster designs showcasing the Black Course as the 2009 US Open Championship venue. I presented a few of them in February 2009 to the Marketing Director at the USGA, Mary Lopuszynski, but they had already selected an official poster/print for the 2009 US Open event and in fact had already passed the date for finalizing all their merchandise selections.

These test Bethpage Black Course images I created made me decide that I'd pursue another new direction with my artistic talents by joining my life long interest in the game of golf with my artistic talents. Since I continue to work in the illustration field using my name Steven Salerno, I therefore decided that I'd promote my golf art images using my full name Steven Anthony Salerno, just to create a bit of an identity separation between my continuing career in illustration and my budding golf art career. The name of my golf art web site is SASgolf.com -which are my initials, S.A.S.

So, next I tentatively posted these 2009 Bethpage Black Course golf art images onto my illustration blog site, while I figured out how I was going to promote my golf art. In June of 2009 from out of the blue I received a call from Mike McAllister, golf writer and the Managing Editor of the PGA TOUR official web site. He explained that he'd seen my golf art images, and asked if I'd like to create art images of the tour's top players every week in their Player Spotlight feature on pgatour.com. Of course I did! So throughout the rest of 2009, every week, I created portraits of many of the tour stars, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Steve Stricker, Camilo Villegas, and others...

This project connection with the PGA TOUR further propelled me to want to make the leap into going beyond my career in illustration and also becoming the best golf artist I can be... so, I created and launched sasgolf.com to display and sell limited edition golf art prints reproduced from my golf art drawings, paintings and graphics.

Visit sasgolf.com to view all the various "galleries" of my prints available to you, for display in your home or office. If you love the game, you'll certainly find a print you'd enjoy owning. These striking prints are printed on 100% cotton rag-based archival fine art papers using vivid permanent pigment inks. The superb inkjet printing process, called Giclee, is the same ultra-fine printing process now used by many museums to produce highly accurate reproduction prints of drawings and paintings in their collection.

Posted above are a couple of my "test" Bethpage Black Course poster designs I initially created.