There was a time when Frankfort’s Steve Lotysz was on the other side of the gate looking in.
Decades ago, the artist and former dentist, who is known in the golfing world as Steve Lotus, would drive by Medinah Country Club and wonder if there was a chance he would get to do some artistic work on the other side of that gate.
“I used to drive by Medinah when I was an artist and a golfer and I would look through the gates and say, you know, I have to try it someday,’’ he said. “Maybe I’ll get to paint this course. It’s so beautiful.’’
Now years later, he has commissioned to provide the artwork for the Presidents Cup, in which festivities began Tuesday and competition starts Thursday on Medinah’s Course No. 3. He will be on hand to meet and greet patrons and to sell prints of his work.
This is the fourth time Lotysz, 73, was let in the gates to do the artwork for a major event as Medinah.
On Thursday, the United States team, captained by Brandt Snedeker, takes on the International team, captained by Geoff Ogilvy.
Golfers such as Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Russell Harvey, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas will be representing the USA while the International team will have a roster featuring players such as Si Wood Kim, Ryan Fox, Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott.
The Presidents Cup started in 1994 and takes place every other year. The United States has shown great mastery and owns a 13-1-1 advantage including winning 10 in a row.
Lotysz was also commissioned to paint the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships, both held at Medinah and won by Tiger Woods, and the 2012 Ryder Cup, known as the “Miracle at Medinah” when Team Europe erased a 10-6 deficit to win 14.5-13.5 on the final day.
For Lotycz, 2026 has been a special year.
He has done work for the PGA Championship near Philadelphia and for the Open Championship — formerly known as the British Open — in Southport, England.
He also had a chance to squeeze in some celebration time with his wife, Sue, as the couple marked their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this month.
Steve said Sue has been invaluable, doing a lot of background administrative work as he has been commissioned to do 56 events since 1997, when he was the signature artist at the U.S. Senior Open at Olympia Field Country Club.
He said he is blessed to have that many commissions under his belt and doesn’t want to sound like he’s bragging but he believes he is the only artist to receive that many.
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“I never set out to boast or do that,” Lotysz said. “I just painted what I loved, which was golf art. I would be out at twilight and seeing these scenes and they were remarkable.
“So, I did some paintings and showed them to Olympia (Fields Country Club), and here we are.”
Lotysz may be one up on other artists because of his love for golf.
“Some golf artists are not golfers,” he said. “They are artists. And I understand that. But as a golfer, I always felt like I could bring something more to the table and let my painting skills kind of carry the day.”
And he has a little help with his faith.
“I always pray before I paint,” Lotysz said. “I believe in a higher power. I put the Christian fish symbol after my name on my signature, and I’ve been doing that for decades.
“Sometimes things happen in the painting process that I can’t explain. I say, did I do that? I did, but the spiritual side is something you don’t want to brush aside.”
Lotysz doesn’t have a special number of commissions that he wants to hit before he gives this up. He is done for 2026 but is already commissioned for the two events in 2027 – the PGA Championships in Frisco, Texas, and the Open Championship at St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland. It will be his third time painting that historic course.
He will keep painting as long as he can.
“As long as I do what I do and do it well, people are happy with my work,” Lotysz said. “We have friends we made along the way, and they appreciate what we do.
“We’re very blessed.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.