Quotes from John Constable

My art flatters nobody by imitation; it courts nobody by smoothness, tickles nobody by petiteness... there is no finish in nature.

I do not consider myself at work unless I am before a six-foot canvas.

The climax of absurdity to which art may be carried when led away from nature by fashion, may be best seen in the works of Boucher.

My art flatters nobody by imitation, it courts nobody by smoothness, nobody by petitelieness without either fal-de-lal or fiddle-de-dee; how then can I hope to be popular?

There has never been a boy painter, nor can there be. The art requires a long apprenticeship, being mechanical, as well as intellectual.

The landscape painter must walk in the fields with a humble mind. No arrogant man was ever permitted to see Nature in all her beauty.

An artist who is self-taught is taught by a very ignorant person indeed.

I never saw an ugly thing in my life...light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.