[nicollo]

After seeing the exhibition, "Constable's Great Landscapes: The Six-Foot Paintings (at the Huntington through April 29), I came away convinced that Constable was red/green color blind:

John Constable, The Hay Wain, 1821. Oil on canvas, 51 ¼ x 73 inches. The National Gallery, London.

Now, since I'm red/green color blind, maybe I just couldn't make out those colors in the paintings... BUT, as I looked upon the huge canvasses I saw in them what I see when I'm outside. Sunsets, trees, and other objects that have subtle color distinctions blur for me, so what draws my attention is the play and brilliance of light, not necessarily its hues.

When others watch sunsets, I turn around and look at how the setting sunlight lands on things behind me: buildings, grass, trees, roadways... all catch the light differently. I felt like I was seeing that along with Constable in those magnificent paintings.

If you're anywhere near the Huntington (Pasadena), get there and fast to see this exhibit.

[Sam Cree]

To mention the painter Everett Raymond Kinstler again, who I think is not color blind, he says that it doesn’t pay for an artist to worry too much about hue or color, to just worry about value, then the colors will follow along.