As a self-taught artist, Jan Ouwersloot mainly painted his own environment. In his oeuvre we find many cityscapes, street scenes and harbours. Ouwersloot is also considered to be one of the Populisten. This group of painters included Louis Schrikkel, Jan Strube and Johan van Hell. The group worked in Utrecht and Amsterdam in the 1930s and painted in the realistic style. The Populisten tried to appeal to a wide audience with their everyday subjects. After 1936 they exhibited within 'De Onafhankelijken', an artists' association of Amsterdam visual artists of which Ouwersloot was a member between 1927-1964.