Nature is the fountain's head, the source from whence all originality must spring. John Constable More Quotes by John Constable More Quotes From John Constable I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful. John Constable attitude beautiful beauty Still I should paint my own places best; painting is with me but another word for feeling, and I associate "my careless boyhood" with all that lies on the banks of the Stour; those scenes made me a painter, and I am grateful; that is, I had often thought of pictures of them before ever I touched a pencil, and your picture ['The White Horse'] is one of the strongest instance I can recollect of it. John Constable horse grateful lying It will be difficult to name a class of landscape in which the sky is not the key note, the standard of scale, and the chief organ of sentiment. John Constable keys names sky Light - dews - breezes - bloom - and freshness; not one of which... has yet been perfected on the canvas of any painter in the world. John Constable dew light perfection It is the soul that sees; the outward eyes John Constable eye soul mind When I sit down to make a sketch from nature, the first thing I try to do is to forget that I have ever seen a picture. John Constable forget trying firsts We see nothing till we truly understand it. John Constable The sound of water escaping from mill-dams, etc., willows, old rotten planks, slimy posts, and brickwork.those scenes made me a painter and I am grateful. John Constable escaping grateful water Painting is a science, and should be pursued as an inquiry into the laws of nature. Why, then, may not landscape painting be considered as a branch of natural philosophy, of which pictures are but the experiments? John Constable nature philosophy science The sky is the source of light in Nature and it governs everything. John Constable source light sky The world is wide; no two days are alike, nor even two hours; neither were there ever two leaves of a tree alike since the creation of the world; and the genuine productions of art, like those of nature, are all distinct from one another. John Constable june summer art An artist who is self-taught is taught by a very ignorant person indeed. John Constable artist self education I am anxious that the world should be inclined to look to painters for information about painting. I hope to show that ours is a regularly taught profession; that it is scientific as well as poetic; that imagination alone never did, and never can, produce works that are to stand by a comparison with realities. John Constable imagination reality looks Turner has outdone himself; he seems to paint with tinted steam, so evanescent and so airy. John Constable airy paint masters My picture [A Boat Passing a Lock, 1823-6] is liked at the [Royal] Academy, indeed it forms a decided feature and its light can not be put out. Because it is the light of nature - the Mother of all that is valuable in poetry - painting or anything else... my execution annoys most of them and all the scholastic ones - perhaps the scarifies I make for 'lightness' and 'brightness' is too much but these things are the essence of Landscape. John Constable light essence mother Speaking to a lawyer about pictures is something like talking to a butcher about humanity. John Constable communication humanity talking The output is far from smooth, and the impact on dispatchable plant required to deal with residual demand is highly significant. Our view is that plant operating under these conditions in the support role for wind will suffer: 1) reduced availability, 2) significantly reduced efficiency, and thus 3) higher emissions per MWh generated. John Constable availability impact views My canvas soothes me into forgetfulness of the scene of turmoil and folly - and worse - of the scene around me. Every gleam of sunshine is blighted to me in the art at least. Can it therefore be wondered at that I paint continual storms? "Tempest o'er tempest roll'd" - still the "darkness" is majestic. John Constable sunshine darkness art I ought to respect myself for my friends' sake, and my children's. It is time, at fifty-six, to begin, at least, to know oneself, - and I do know what I am not, and your regard for me has at least awakened me to believe in the possibility that I may yet make some impression with my "light" - my "dews" - my "breezes" - my bloom and freshness, - no one of which qualities has yet been perfected on the canvas of any painter in the world. John Constable light believe children He [the artist] ought to have 'these powerful organs of expression' - colour and chiaroscuro - entirely at his command, that he may use them in every possible form, as well as that he may do with the most perfect freedom; therefore, whether he wishes to make the subject of a joyous, solemn, or meditative character, by flinging over it the cheerful aspect which the sun bestows, by a proper disposition of shade, or by the appearances that beautify its arising or its setting, a true "General Effect" should never be lost sight of. John Constable powerful artist character
