Notes on Perspective Classes

As you know, I taught perspective in my last course at Madeline Island, this past summer. I've been reflecting on my experience and here are some notes:

• Most people seemed to understand the main concepts of perspective, but a few struggled with the idea of projecting a scene onto a picture plane. Interestingly, even among those who struggled, some completed the classroom exercises correctly - likely because they were following the script or formula I had just given them, rather than fully grasping the concept;

• It was an especially good idea to emphasize: eye level, the line of sight, and the picture plane;

• The ‘colored box’ helped A LOT!

• Lifting and showing my drawing while working on the demos proved to be both important and necessary;

• The placement of the vanishing points, as well as the distance between them, seemed to be a particularly challenging issue;

• It is essential to emphasize that lines are either horizontal, vertical, or receding toward the vanishing points. Some people forget this and ended up drawing lines that head off to strange, random places onto the page. This problem seems to come from a confusion between the picture plane and the observer’s position, as if the observer sees both the drawing and the scene from above (however, this is just a speculation from my part)

Toned paper as a foundation for atmospheric drawings

It hasn’t been very long since I started using toned paper in my urban sketching. I must say, I regret not trying it sooner! It’s just incredible how toned paper can turn any drawing into something much more appealing. I also think it makes the process a little faster, since the middle value is already set — all you have to do is add the darks and the lights.

Well, of course, it’s not that simple 😆. You can easily spend a lot of time building up layer after layer of graphite (or another medium) without really getting anywhere. But once you add the white, the light pops and the full range of values is established. However — there’s always a however — if you bring in the white too soon, it will just get dirty.

As I developed some skills in creating atmospheric drawings with graphite, I thought it would be a good idea to bring this approach to the workshop as well, this time on toned paper. 

To introduce this stage of the workshop, I talked about how artists can develop a deeper level of sophistication by nurturing their sensibility. By “sophistication,” I don’t mean simply refining technique — it’s about adding layers of meaning to your work. To illustrate this, I brought up the American artist Andrew Wyeth, whose works expresses this very idea.

Beyond Vanishing Points: Visual Reading

Knowledge fuels perception, enabling it to grow stronger. This means we cannot bypass studying essential methods—especially linear perspective, which involves a mechanical process. Yes, it requires patience and effort, but studying perspective builds a useful and powerful repertoire—one that can be accessed at any time (or even consciously set aside).

Yet, there is a tool that might help capture the world before us - what I call “visual reading”.

Visual reading is the act of examining and distilling a scene into an organized collection of angles and measurements – or simply, shapes. These two-dimensional elements are geometric abstractions of planes, volumes, masses, or voids inherent in the scene we observe.

When this specific type of perception is well trained, everything can be translated into rectangles, triangles, ellipses, or any nameless shapes. With experience, this act becomes internalized and employed naturally, without effort or taking up much space in our minds – meaning more room for intuition. The more we create a fertile ground for intuition to grow, the more expressive we become.

I decided to use the main building of the school as a subject as well, especially the section shown in the picture beside, which had deliberated left the bottom of the building off the limits of the frame.

Although it looks challenging, this detail provides valuable opportunities to explore the visual reading method, without neglecting key aspects of mechanical perspective, such as eye level, vanishing points, and the nearest edge. 

See in the pictures above the sequence of visual analysis of the subject: first (A), we observe the negative shapes around the bulk of the building, especially around the roof. Second (B), we begin to read the multiple angles against horizontal and / or vertical references. Finally (C), applying our knowledge of linear perspective, we can establish some very important connections (ones we wouldn’t figure out otherwise).

Apart from the workshop’s technical background, I also wanted to share a few ideas to make things more interesting, both in terms of technique and concepts, which I’ll cover in my next post.

Learning Through Demonstrations and Practice

Drawing is the result of a union between knowledge and intuition.

Knowledge arises from learning foundational principles such as linear perspective, tonal range, and color theory. It’s also the outcome of acquiring technical skills, developed through consistent and diligent practice. 

Intuition is the terrain where insight emerges. It involves using our sensibility and nurturing it by absorbing Beauty, whether from nature or other art forms (literature, music, cinema, architecture…) and by experiencing life itself. 

Both these dimensions enhance our visual perception: through study and practice, we train the brain to look beyond common sense or mere facts, infusing new, personal meanings into what we perceive. Seeing negative spaces are a perfect example of this capacity. 

Regarding the foundations, here are examples of demonstrations I did during my classes at Madeline School of the Arts, as posted earlier.

One of the demos I did in the classroom, using the colored box

On-location demo - explanation. I stated that we can keep the same structure while changing the visual field, the format, and the position of the eye level within the frame.

Notice the emphasis on the visual reading aspect on this demo - the shapes on the sky, the angles on the ground.

Below, a few photos of classes:

Everyone brought their stools. On the back, you can see Oliver's class going on 

Our little, beloved barn we used for studying perspective and visual reading. It was the perfect subject!

More students. On the left you can see a woman 'reading' with her pencil. The building behind is the "Milk House", where there are two big, comfortable classrooms. 

Madeline Island School of the Arts - Season 2

This July, as I posted before, the Madeline Island School of the Arts held another course led by a great group of dedicated instructors, including yours truly. 

Once again, it was an incredible week—full of joy and camaraderie, but also challenges and plenty of learning, and of course the awesome food and the beautiful scenery of both the campus and the island.

My workshop was this: "Visual Reading - Using your Perception to Build Scenes" (see here a description)

The results were great, I must say. For those who already had some experience with perspective, it was a good chance to sharpen their skills or simply practice using the personal approach I’ve developed over more than 15 years of teaching. And for complete beginners, it was the perfect chance to jump in, learn, and start experimenting right away. That’s because we were completely immersed in a calm, inspiring setting—starting in the classroom and then taking the knowledge straight outside, just a few steps from the door.

I believe I’ve developed a good balance between the theoretical and practical sides of perspective, especially since I work on a smooth transition from the mechanical system to the visual/perceptive system, making it easier for the students to understand and depict three-dimensional space.

For explaining the fundamentals, I brought along my beautiful little box of colors, which was a huge help - for both indoors and outdoors activities! 

Here are two sketches I made in preparation for the classes. They show the development of my thinking and were used to illustrate, among other things:

1. Framing: Helps make things smaller so they fit onto the page;
2. First lines: Eye level, nearest edge—the first lines establish the dimensions of the subject, but can be adjusted until you find the right fit;
3. Establishing the perspective structure: Add the vanishing points onto the page (I specifically asked them to do this as an exercise);
4. Measuring distances horizontally first, and then vertically: Use the pencil to gauge proportions;
5. Check dimensions again: Adjust the frame if necessary and possible;
6. Start figuring out sloping lines;
7. As your sketch takes shape, mistakes will pop up—after all, drawing is all about making continuous adjustments until, and this is very important, you fully commit to the new reality you’ve just created and move forward;
8. The structure is in place—you’ve put in a lot of effort to build everything up. Now it’s time to start adding some details and have fun! (well, I mean, we should be able to have fun at every step of the process of course - I certainly try!)

It's coming soon! Urban Sketching and Beyond: Solid Foundations, Exciting Applications

In this sequence of images, I explain the ideas that guided me in creating the workshop I'll be teaching on Madeline Island next July!

For more information check this link.