Artist research: William Turner:

In this oil painting 'The Great Western Railway' painted in 1844 I can see that Turner has used warm tones and colours, browns and yellows mixing together. I think that these colours allow the work to feel warm and inviting, as it this piece was painted on a warm summers day. However, the blurred lines that twist and blend in with each other create this almost barren look to the piece. All that can be seen are the train tracks and everything else is a blur of colour that fades into the background and I think that this is an effective way to also showcase speech within the work. the tran is moving so fast that you can only get blurred glimpses of the scenery outside, all the finer details flowing into each other as the train passes. I believe that this allows the work to feel bigger than it is, as if we are on a train taking us into the unknown. I think that the technique of blending and layering these colours and also having the train track disappear into a vanishing point has allowed the piece to have depth, the train is moving towards the viewer and leaving the rest of the world behind.  

In this water colour 'The Blue Rigi' painted in 1842 I noticed that the colours being used are lighter and more airy than the previous work. The blues are cooler toned and even the yellow of the sunrise is pale and fresh, to me this makes it seem as if this has been painted while looking at an early sunrise in the morning fog. The mountain in the middle of the piece is the clear focal point and the lake in front reflect the light and colours creating an almost mirror image that extends the subject and allows the colours to fill up the entire work. I think that Tuner has used smooth, intentional but gentle brush strokes and lines within this work o make the subject clear and the darker tones and strong lines and forms of the mountain allow it to loom over the landscape creating a sense momentous scale within the painting. When I look at this image I am reminded of finding secret spots while on hikes, there is a sense of calm within the work, this could be because of the calming blue tones or the gentle lines or both these elements working together. It feels like somewhere that you would want to sit down and enjoy, somewhere that reinvigorates you.