Piper visited the counties of Kent and Sussex throughout his youth and artistic career. He captured the coastal villages in detail, taking photographs and notes in his ‘journey books’. This landscape is believed to be of either Portland or Dungeness, two locations very dear to Piper. Drawn to the romantic desolation, Piper captures the overcast skies and rugged scenery void of any human presence, yet the deserted huts, upturned boats and unusual piles of weathered rocks moved from nearby quarries offer traces of both past interaction and an ongoing narrative between man and nature. Early portrayals of these locations are some of Piper’s most playful, however after the Second World War the beaches bore a severity, strewn with military debris and barbed wire fences. A sense of foreboding and isolation is present, with the high winds and salt spray from the distant English Channel brought to life by Piper’s skilful application of dark-coloured paint and wax resist.