The Thames near Walton Bridges (1805) : While living for part of the time at Isleworth, Turner made many excursions along the river, drawing, painting and fishing � his favourite hobby. He kept a boat, and often stopped overnight at various landing-places. He also painted on board, as here on small wood panels and sometimes, more ambitiously, on canvas. Painting in oils in the open air, direct from the subject, was becoming popular in the early nineteenth century, in response to a growing feeling for naturalism. Turner�s oil sketches of the Thames painted around 1805 show him at the forefront of the trend. *JMW (Joseph Mallord William) TURNER (1775-1851) was one of the most important English Romantic Painters of the 19th century. He is known for his expressive colourisations, imaginative landscapes and turbulent, often violent marine paintings. Turner's imagination was sparked by shipwrecks, fires, and natural phenomena such as sunlight, storm, rain, and fog. He was fascinated by the violent power, turbulence and tidestorms of the sea. It's said that his last words before death were, 'The Sun is God!'