Field Notes
Turner often created black and white sketches or applied muted colour to otherwise sepia toned images. In The Felucca c.1824 we see classic ‘big skies’ full of light and shade in the sky but depicted in very soft, fluffy tones. The sky I found here, near Hythe, where Turner also painted, had the qualities I was after. In The Felucca Turner used soft reds to bring colour in but I had nothing of this shade and without it a ‘split tone’ seemed contrived. Instead I’ve kept it in mono with the same sky to sea ratio Turner used and used his approach to soft edged clouds full of drama but without the need for sharp, aggressive details.