Now it’s time to create your own realistic landscape! John Constable did hundreds of thumbnails (small compositional) sketches and color studies before beginning a finished piece. Before creating your final drawing or painting, you will create six small studies. Step 1. Create three thumbnail (4 × 4 inch) sketches of possible local landscapes. Be sure to pick a spot where you can see the horizon. Include a foreground, background, and horizon line.

Answer 1

Thumbnail Sketch 1:
- Location: A field of wildflowers with a distant mountain range
- Foreground: Tall grass and scattered wildflowers
- Background: Snow-capped mountains
- Horizon line: Where the mountains meet the sky

Thumbnail Sketch 2:
- Location: A serene lake surrounded by lush forests
- Foreground: Ducks swimming in the lake and a small dock
- Background: Dense forest trees and distant hills
- Horizon line: Where the trees meet the sky

Thumbnail Sketch 3:
- Location: A coastal beach at sunset
- Foreground: Seashells, sand dunes, and crashing waves
- Background: Golden sky and distant cliffs
- Horizon line: Where the ocean meets the sky

These sketches will help you plan out your final landscape composition and make decisions about colors, lighting, and perspective.