As a boy the artist had enjoyed family holidays at Rhyl on the North coast of Wales and his drawings of boats at sea are amongst the earliest he executed. The present work of Rhyl harbour was executed in 1924. As he grew older he began to spend more time on the North East coast, an area for which he had a particular fondness, but Rhyl and his native Fylde coastline were to feature consistently through his career as subjects for paintings and drawings.