Fireworks of light dazzlingly illuminate the works of British artist William Turner (1775 – 1851). Called “the painter of light” and “the great pyrotechnist,” Turner created masterfully lit scenes of land and sea. Exhibiting his first painting at the Royal Academy at age 15, and opening his own studio when he was 18, Turner produced an astounding 20,000 paintings and drawings in his lifetime. Some of his best lit work was influenced by his studies of rapidly changing weather conditions on the sea and sky in Venice. Turner, who is known for oil paintings, is also regarded as a founder of British watercolor landscape painting.