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Skies

 John Constable wrote to Reverend Fisher and John Dunthorne about his experiences painting the landscape. A minister and the village plumber, Fisher and Dunthorne shared Constable’s passion for painting. In their letters we have a record of their successes and frustrations. Constable wrote of his painting sessions outdoors “skying,” pursuing dramatic

skies and struggling to get them down on canvas. He clearly understood their importance in his paintings.

 In October 23, 1821 he wrote to Reverend Fisher:

 “The sky is the source of light in nature, and governs every thing. Even our common observations on the weather of every day, are suggested by them, but it does not occur to us. Their difficulty in painting both as to composition and execution is very great, because, with all their brilliancy and consequence, they ought not to come forward, or be hardly thought about in a picture…”

 The sky gives us a glimpse into the soul of a landscape; it is an honest and worthy effort to capture the fleeting beauty of a particular sky.