Why did Constable emphasize sketching outdoors?
Sketching outdoors, or 'en plein air,' was indispensable to my practice. It was the only way to truly capture the transient effects of light and atmosphere. Studio work, with its fixed conditions, could never replicate the subtle shifts in colour and tone that are the essence of the landscape. My oil sketches were not mere preparatory studies but important works in themselves, capturing the immediate sensation of a particular moment. This direct observation allowed me to record the 'chiaroscuro' of nature as it truly appeared, unadulterated by memory or theory.
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