 He now became the chief support of his family - following the death of his father (in financial difficulty) in that year - and found some valuable patrons, especially Sir Thomas Freeman Heathcote, Sir John Leicester, Sir Robert Peel, Sir George Beaumont, and Lord Liverpool.In 1814 two pictures, "The Blackberry Gatherers" and "The Birdcatchers" (both sold privately), won him an associateship of the Royal Academy (ARA).In 1815, Collins undertook a sketching tour of the coast near Cromer, and produced a "Scene on the Coast of Norfolk" which was acquired by the Prince Regent.