The other side of Romantic landscape from 'storm and stress' concerned feelings of contentment and reassurance. Here, Watts aims above all at tranquillity. He based his methods of working on those of Constable, evidenced in this painting by the fresh colours and sparkling light. Watts's favourite location for painting was the countryside around the river Wye from central Wales to the estuary of the river Severn, with its gently rolling hills and lush foliage. Also like Constable, Watts preferred the landscape in high summer, the sun at its most powerful and the sky at its brightest. The scene is populated: a mother and child stroll along the river path, birds soar in the sky, cows graze by the water's edge, and the boats slowly drift along, hardly disturbing the mirror reflections on the water's surface.