Sea and Sky (early 1840s)
Turner made annual trips to the Continent between 1840-45, but much of his time in England during these years was devoted to the study of the seas, sands and skies of Kent and the English Channel. Turner produced large numbers of watercolours of beaches from the early 1840s. This output coincided with frequent visits to Margate where his mistress Sophia Booth lived. The journey there was made easier by the regular steamer service from London Bridge. The lack of topographical detail in most of these watercolours makes it difficult to tell which particular place Turner has depicted. Instead, they are noted for their economic use of washes and rapid marks. They are bold studies, painted with great immediacy, and are mainly concerned with the changing mood of storm clouds, the rising and setting sun or the movement of the sea.