The Oil Painter's Bible - chapter 5
importance of mastering geometric perspective cannot be stressed too highly. It is imperative that any
serious aspiring artist absorb this fundamental principle completely, if he or she is to ever create
genuinely Great Art. It must become second nature, so thoroughly assimilated that virtually no effort is
required to visualize it correctly. As the subject is so completely covered in Rex Vicat Cole's book,
Perspective for Artists, there is little point in addressing it in full detail in this book.
Errors in perspective are far too common in modern times. Such an error immediately destroys the
illusion of spatial recession, and prevents the viewer from receiving the artist's message.
In the simplest exercises in perspective, one
Vanishing Point only is used, and may be
placed arbitrarily, on the Horizon. A straight
road on absolutely level ground may be
indicated by drawing lines from points on
each side of the road to the Vanishing Point
on the horizon, where they converge. Suppose
we want to add a line of telephone poles, or
fence posts, running parallel to the road and
placed at regular intervals. The spaces
between them must diminish as greater
distance from the viewer's eye is indicated.
The interval between the nearest pole and the
second pole is established arbitrarily by the
artist. The placement of the base of the third
pole may be determined by drawing a
guideline from the top of the first pole
through the center of the second pole, and
extending it until it intersects the line running
from the base of the first pole to the
Vanishing Point.
A vertical line drawn from the point thus established becomes the third pole. Its height is found by
drawing a line from the top of the first pole to the Vanishing Point. The fourth pole is located by drawing
a line from the top of the second pole through the center of the third pole and extending it to the line
connecting the base of the first pole with the Vanishing Point, and so on. This example is quite simple,
and should serve only as an introduction to the geometrical system of indicating three-dimensional depth
on a two-dimensional surface. Refer to the insets and accompanying illustrations for solutions to some of
the more complex perspective problems.
The system is not quite perfect, as it fails to take into account the curvature of the Earth. It works well
because the Earth is so large that in most cases the curvature is not apparent. Its limitations are that it can
become quite complicated, and artists are generally not mathematicians, nor are they likely to be
interested in approaching the scene from such an analytical, as opposed to intuitive, standpoint. For this
reason, many artists, or would-be artists, are weak in their understanding of this fundamental principle. It
is imperative that the student, the aspiring artist, apply the discipline necessary to learn the mathematics of
the system so well that all awkwardness with its application disappears and ceases to interfere with the
creative, intuitive processes so essential to art. Once it is committed to second nature, it becomes a help
rather than a hindrance. The artist should then be able to "eyeball" the scene accurately, without having to
actually draw the vanishing points and guide lines. Its parallel in music would be the learning of music
theory; perhaps no fun at first, but Great Music cannot be created without it.
ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE
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