Turner began to use blue paper in the mid-1820s. The cool tone and dense texture provided the basis for experiments with colour relationships. He often used intense colours and employed bodycolour – watercolour mixed with white pigment to make it opaque – to create dramatic highlights. This harbour view may depict Margate on the Kent coast in south-east England, one of Turner’s favourite places. A group of fishermen have gathered in the foreground and are unloading their catch. The earth tones of their clothing contrast with the shifting colours of the sea and sky.