Coastal scene, low tide is a dreamlike image of sea and cliffs, possibly at St Ives. Long visited St Ives on a regular basis, and is known to have been there in 1911 and 1912, and may well have visited in 1914.

As in many of Long’s images, it is not specific geography that he is concerned with, but an evocation of nature, the creation of a mood. The scene is a protected bay on a grey day, with some foreground rocks, gentle waves breaking, cliffs in the background, and birds gathering in the sky.

Long employed a palette of soft blues, purples, greens, browns and a dash of salmony pink, using a crisp, dry brush in some areas and wet-in-wet in others. He created the white of the gentle waves through the white of the paper support. His application of paint and use of muted colours in this watercolour evoke a sense of the tide flowing silently and effortlessly. Long depicted a coastal scene that is, in many ways, placeless and timeless.

Coastal scene, low tide is a dreamlike image of sea and cliffs, possibly at St Ives. Long visited St Ives on a regular basis, and is known to have been there in 1911 and 1912, and may well have visited in 1914.

As in many of Long’s images, it is not specific geography that he is concerned with, but an evocation of nature, the creation of a mood. The scene is a protected bay on a grey day, with some foreground rocks, gentle waves breaking, cliffs in the background, and birds gathering in the sky.

Long employed a palette of soft blues, purples, greens, browns and a dash of salmony pink, using a crisp, dry brush in some areas and wet-in-wet in others. He created the white of the gentle waves through the white of the paper support. His application of paint and use of muted colours in this watercolour evoke a sense of the tide flowing silently and effortlessly. Long depicted a coastal scene that is, in many ways, placeless and timeless.