In this sketch he shows clouds in all their forms: low solid-looking stratus, fluffy-edged cumulus, and wispy cirrus. To achieve these different effects Turner has used a variety of pencil strokes: long continuous lines, random-looking wave-shapes, scribbles and hatching. Clouds are a particular feature of many of the
Provincial Antiquities designs, with a great variety of types exhibited in different illustrations, and sometimes, as in
Bass Rock, circa 1824 (watercolour, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight),
1 several different types in one design. The translation of Turner’s watercolour clouds into print took all the ingenuity of his engravers as can be seen when comparing different stages of the print. Engraved proofs of both
Edinburgh from Calton Hill and
Tantallon Castle show that some of the more solid cloud formations could be depicted with etched lines (Tate
T04490,
T04490), while haze and mist had to be engraved (Tate
T04491,
T04491).