I've been taking a perspective class recently from a fabulous Russian -trained artist . The class has been hard for me since I failed geometry in high school. Here's a visual note from Wednesday's class:
My artist friends and I have been having a really good conversation on Facebook about how much perspective an artist really needs in order to be a successful painter.
I especially loved the comment by my friend and fellow plein air painter Diane Mannion who wrote the following, "Linear perspective: The very words themselves seem to strike terror into students, it's no wonder when they hear such terms as 'multiple vanishing points' and 'conical projection'. Well, just forget them, all that is necessary for a landscape painter to have, is a sense of perspective and an eye for the obvious. Just remember these simple rules:
*Objects diminish in size as they recede from the viewer.
*The horizon is always at the eye-level of the viewer.
*Parallel lines on such things as buildings tend to converge in distance, usually on the horizon.
Whole books have been written about the laws of perspective but as with legal laws, you need only enough knowledge of them to be able to keep out of trouble."
-Trevor Chamberlain (OIL PAINTING PURE AND SIMPLE)
Thanks so much Diane! Your words gave me the courage to paint this scene without measuring a single thing! And whether right or wrong, it was painted with passion and energy, (and a little sweat.)
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