Covey

"Nature is a master pattern maker," Tunnicliffe wrote. Nature was capable of designs "far more wonderful than anything that I could have invented". Yet design choice was important to Tunnicliffe. In works like these, he did not simply copy nature.

Tunnicliffe paid careful attention to patterns, textures, colour and light. He also chose flattened forms rather than an illusionistic technique. This demonstrates Tunnicliffe’s admiration for Chinese and Persian painting as well as Japanese printmaking.

Tunnicliffe referred to his paintings as "decorations for modern rooms. Those are the places they are going into, I am pleased to say. Hardly any go into galleries; they are bought privately". These three watercolours were, however, bought by the Royal Academy for its collection from the Summer Exhibition in 1944.