Veules-les-Roses is a pretty seaside town on the northern coast of France where Peploe and fellow Scottish Colourist, John Duncan Fergusson, went to swim and to draw holidaymakers on the beach. This rapidly painted oil sketch shows the influence of Fauvism, which Peploe had encountered for the first time in Paris, where he and Fergusson were now living. The bold palette, together with the loose handling of the paint, give a sense of the organic structure of the scene, and highlights in particular the influence of Fauve artist Othon Friesz. In 1906 Friesz travelled with Georges Braque to paint in La Havre, Braque’s hometown, near Veules-les-Roses. Peploe would almost certainly have been aware of the work they created during this trip.