I read a lot. I always read an author's introduction and other post-book writings first. It gives me a sense for why the book was written, the author's intent, direction, and interesting milestones along the way. I know too that authors are prolific researchers. There is a great deal of outlining and framing the narrative, often according to common book structure. I didn't do any of that. I dove right in.

I wrote the Introduction for my book, Painting Pinehurst No. 2: An Artist's Journey, first and almost immediately after finishing the paintings of each of the 18 golf holes. This helped me to solidify my thoughts and answer my own questions about why this book? It endured many edits up to the last time I read it before going to the printer. I think at that point I changed one word. From then on, my reflections about each hole which would accompany a faithful reproduction of each painting became my book outline and structure.

I'm a strong believer in documentation. I document every painting digitally and through notes. I'm very disciplined and do this very soon after completing a piece. Things are fresh in my mind then. So it was for each painting of Pinehurst No. 2. My accompanying digital photographs, nearly 1,500, also served to jog my memory of a particular predawn morning or evening walk as the sun set.

I met many people along the way. Many I'm still in touch with. They, too, became a part of my initial drafts. I thought it might be interesting to add a little human interest to the story and I initially included our conversations, sometimes verbatim! As the copy to accompany each hole neared completion it became increasingly obvious to me that things were getting a little out of hand. I'd done some bookstore and on line research and quickly realized how much page count impacts cost! Time to edit.

In the end, my three primary goals for the book took precedence. First, this book is all about the paintings. And, as I talked about the concept of my book to others, I began to realize how the other two components would add to its value. I wanted to "key" each painting to Donald Ross's original golf course layout. I also wanted the reader to see how I worked and to show the progress of one painting from blank page to finished piece.

For another 18 months, after a day of painting, I wrote and edited in the evenings. I came to a point where another edit was not going to gain me much. I needed an editor. Enter Deborah Falcone, Legendary Publishing and Media Group, and Susan Balle. You can follow my editing, layout and production journey in Part III. And, in Part IV the books arrive!