Painting not putting: Local artist wows golf fans with on-site painting exhibition
As the crowd filed into Mission Hills Country Club on Friday for the start of the inaugural Galleri Classic senior golf tour event, they were drawn to some of the big names like Fred Couples, Ernie Els and John Daly.
But the person drawing the most second looks may have been Kathleen Strukoff. Strukoff is not an LPGA Hall of Famer or former Dinah Shore champion. No, her skill comes with a paintbrush, not a 7-iron.
Strukoff was commissioned by the tournament to paint the beautiful setting as golfers teed off amid the palm trees and snow-capped mountains. Strukoff had her easel and oil paints set up on a grassy knoll between the first tee and the putting green. As patrons walked back and forth, many would stop to check on her progress and chat with her about what she was doing.
"Its fabulous because people are so ... first of all the setting is beautiful ... but people have been so fascinated," Strukoff said. "I think it's an unexpected thing to be happening out here, and they watch me sort of bring it to life throughout the day. When they come by initially, it's just like a big blob and then they're like 'Oh my god, I see the trees coming out' or whatever. They seem to be loving it."
Strukoff has lived in Palm Springs for three years, and she has a studio in South Palm Springs. She does these sort of on-site live paintings quite a bit. She loves hitting the street as a pop-up painter when she can.
And she doesn't mind when people compare to that more famous oil-painting icon.
"It's funny because people are always saying 'You're like Bob Ross' and it's suprising how many children know about Bob Ross and when I'm out on the street painting I get that a lot and I don't mind leaning into it," Strukoff said. "He got people excited about art."
What Strukoff was painting on Friday was the view down the first hole at the Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills Country Club, a gorgeous vantage point with the gallery and palm trees and San Jacinto Mountain partially covered in snow.
Strukoff said she's not much of a golfer herself but isn't too far removed from a champion of sorts.
"I'm not a really good golfer. I have occasionally played, but always badly," she said. "My grandmother was the Cheyenne Wyoming Country Club ladies' golf champion in like 1920-something so I think she's looking down going 'Yes!' but there were probably only about three women in the event. But it still counts."
She is part of the Desert Open Studio Tours this weekend where local artists open their studios so people can see how the magic happens. The event is Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at various locations. Visit desertopenstudios.com for details.
Her Friday effort at the golf course kept getting interrupted by people wanting to chat about what she was doing, but she doesn't mind that at all. In fact, she relishes it.
"This is just a fun thing to do because you get the crowd interaction," she said. "I think it's something very inspirational to people so I feed off their excitement. I love it."
Shad Powers is a columnist at The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Galleri Classic: Local artist wows golf fans with on-site painting exhibition
