Women working in a field

William Bennett was strongly influenced by the loose brushwork and transparent washes characteristic of the work of his mentor, David Cox. This sprightly watercolour is not a conventionally finished work and appears to have been painted on the spot. Working on thick, coarsely grained paper, Bennett used a dry brush technique to break up the flatness of the washes by dragging the brush across the surface and allowing exposed areas of the paper to suggest flickering light.