Fishing Boats: A Breeze

A low horizon and an indistinct view in the distance give priority to the sky and the sea in this watercolour by David Cox. The clouds appear to hurtle to the left while the boats' sails billow to the right, creating energy and a sense of movement.

Cox belonged to the Birmingham School of landscape artists, but he moved to London in 1804. He painted in oils as well as in watercolour and gouache. Cox watercolour paper is named after him. Like William Henry Pike, Cox has used a dot of red paint to bring a figure into the foreground.

You can buy a high-quality print of this work from Art UK.

Visual description: A watercolour painting of fishing boats out at sea. The top two-thirds of the painting are of a stormy, grey sky. The sea makes up the lower third. In the centre, three boats ride the waves with wind-filled sails – two white, one orange. More boats are visible in the distance with seabirds flying around them. Two men in a rowboat tackle the waves behind the boats.