Ben Nicholson stressed the physical qualities of his paintings by scraping the paint surface to give a weathered, textured appearance. He was interested in early Italian Renaissance painting from the 1400s -1490s, non-Western cultures, and children's art. He was also inspired by the paintings of Alfred Wallis in St Ives - a fisherman who painted on old pieces of cardboard using ship's or household paint. Nicholson was drawn to this freedom of expression, free of formal art training. Nicholson's direct physical involvement with his materials and his concern for paint as paint, rather than imitation or illusion, soon led to his fully abstract works.