Francis Towne A View at Pines the Seat of Sir Stafford Northcote Bart near Exeter 1778

Towne lived and worked for a part of his life in Exeter. This work is from the period when Towne developed the style of pen and ink outlines and broad over-washes for which he was known. In this work he has not yet completely refined this technique; his pen and ink lines are quite stiff and regimented. To build up the surface Towne has worked quickly applying various dilutions of wet on wet washes and more slowly applying wet washes over already dry washes. This enables him to create softened areas of wash and contrasting areas of wash respectively.