The old mill, Betws-y-Coed

The village of Betws-y-Coed in North Wales became a favourite haunt for painters around the middle of the 19th century. David Law visited the area in the 1860s in search of moody landscape subjects – which had been made popular by David Cox – such as this picturesque old mill beside a rushing, rocky stream. The loose brushwork and use of transparent washes show the further influence of Cox, who had developed more expressive ways of applying and wielding his medium and became something of a model for watercolourists later in the century.