Constable's artistic style evolved after 1822, moving away from strict documentary accuracy towards rougher and more expressive paint surfaces. The oil sketch of Brighton Beach is a quick and dynamic representation of an advancing storm, capturing the tumultuous atmosphere rather than detailed realism. Although less closely rendered than his display canvases, the scene is identifiable as a single moment in time as the storm approaches. This approach to capturing the effects of weather, light, and time of day had an impact on later artists, and his oil sketches are now celebrated as precursors to Impressionism, modernism, and photographic composition.

Despite Constable's initial intention to use the sketches for his own study and to develop more "finished" canvases, they have become an important part of his body of work. They are now considered some of his most innovative and radical pieces, breaking from the traditions of academic art more than the paintings he exhibited. In both his sketches and finished paintings, Constable aimed to paint the truth of what he saw without resorting to artifice or exaggeration.