The work is dated 1942. On the outbreak of war in 1939 petrol rationing was introduced. Gillies was a keen collector of cars and motorbikes, see the photographs in the nearby display case, but the rationing meant he couldn’t get to and from the West coast from his home in Temple. The painting is more likely therefore to have been painted from sketches made earlier.
There is an almost childlike feel to the painting. Perhaps Gillies was trying to capture the innocence of childhood in a tranquil location whilst he battled with the impact of the Second World War.