Letter 10/29/1883 - by Vincent van Gogh

Now there is, so to speak, not a day that I don't make something or other. Just by learning as I go along, it cannot be otherwise than that I must move forward; every drawing made, every study painted, means a step forward. It is like walking along a road; you can see a spire at the end of it, but because the country is not flat, when you think you can see the end there is always a stretch that you could not see at first, and it adds to the journey. However, you get nearer. Sooner or later, I don't know how soon, I will reach the stage when I can start selling my work.

I will quickly sketch those landscapes for you that I have on the easel. There you see the kind of studies that I would wish to make a direct impact on you. To learn to look at the landscape at large in its simple lines and contrasts of light and dark. I saw the top one today: it was altogether Michel. The natural scenery set off that foreground superbly. M y study is not yet mature enough for me, but the effect moved me, and as far as light and dark goes, it was as I draw it for you here.

The bottom one has a little wheat field of delicate green in the foreground and withered grasses; behind the cottage are two peat stacks, again a vista onto the heath, and the sky very light.