Perspective

Everyone has their own PERSPECTIVE, or way of seeing the world. Artworks can show us a glimpse of the ways that artists see and think. Perspective drawing, or one-point perspective, is a tool used by artists to help them show space.

Check out how the artists below use perspective in their works and get inspired to explore your own point of view.

A horizontally oriented watercolor and graphite drawing depicts a landscape bisected by a vibrant middle ground of swirling, blotchy dabs in pink, orange, and red. Center, small green pine trees emerge from the foliage. Taller evergreens span the background beneath a pale blue wash, transitioning from deep green on our left to yellowish-green. Lower right, a gray shape fills the corner, the composition using expressive washes and streaks to convey a forest.
West Point near Small Point, Maine—Autumn, 1914. John Marin. 2020.138

How Do You See the World?

Artist John Marin was well known for his watercolor paintings. He liked to paint nature scenes, or landscapes, of the coast of Maine, one of his favorite places to visit. What’s one of your favorite places to visit?

During each stay, Marin would create a new painting based on what he saw. For example, he might change his colors based on the season, or maybe it would be a cloudy day in one of his paintings and sunny in another.

Think about a view you see every day. It can be something you see in your home, your backyard, or on a walk in your neighborhood. Grab some paper and draw a picture of what you see. Try another drawing again the next day. How is the second drawing similar or different?

Try drawing the same setting five days in a row but choose a different position each time. After five days, look at all your drawings together. Which perspective do you like the best?

Bonus Tip: If you want to create a drawing that looks like a watercolor painting, try using washable markers on a white coffee filter. When you have finished drawing, use a brush or spray bottle to add water on top of your marks. Watch how your colors spread, just like in Marin’s painting above.

Framing Space

Photographers think about perspective too. Many are inspired by architecture, as seen in Clarence John Laughlin’s photograph of a spiral staircase below. Laughlin chose to capture a view looking up at the staircase, so it appears that the stairs slowly disappear into the ceiling as they turn.

A vertically oriented black-and-white photograph shows the point of view of a person looking up at a spiral staircase from below. The stark black spiral of the railing contrasts with the square of white light shining through the window and sheer curtains in the lower right.
The Autonomous Spiral, 1929, printed before 1979. Clarence John Laughlin. 2018.254

Try This! Make a viewfinder. If you cut two L shapes from a piece of paper, you can position them together to create a rectangular window. Or you can simply use your fingers. Check out the diagrams below.

Cropping Frame with flower illustration

Cropping hands graphic

Using your viewfinder, see if you can find a scene in your home that inspires you. When you’re ready, take a photo of your unique perspective. Challenge a member of your family to take a photo of the same object or area of your home. How are your perspectives similar or different?

Explore One-Point Perspective

Perspective can also be a tool that artists use to help indicate distance. Objects that are farther away appear smaller than the ones we can see up close. Look at the drawing below. Notice how the columns line up and how they seem to get smaller as they approach the arched opening at the end of the hallway.

A vertically oriented pen and brown ink drawing with blue-gray wash depicts a deep, vaulted arcade. Symmetrical rows of columns on our left and right border a grid-patterned floor receding into the distance. Light from our left creates long, blue-gray washes for shadows across the walkway. Fine brown ink lines define the architectural ceiling. Through a far archway, sketched buildings appear. A signature rests at the bottom right.
Barrel-Vaulted Arcade Rendered in Perspective, 1700s. Francesco Battaglioli. 1954.687

Try This! Create your own one-point perspective drawing of your street. Follow the steps below to get started:

  1. Grab a piece of paper, a ruler or straightedge, and a drawing tool.

  2. Use your ruler to draw a straight line across the center of your page. This is your HORIZON LINE. This line shows where the sky meets the ground in your drawing.

    Vanishing Point Activity step 2 illustration (Horizon Line)

  3. Draw a dot or small x in the center of your line. This will be your VANISHING POINT. In a one-point perspective drawing, a vanishing point is the point on the horizon where two receding lines meet. Look again at the drawing above. Follow the lines on the floor of the hallway. Can you find the vanishing point?

    Vanishing Point Activity step 3 illustration (Vanishing Point)

  4. Next, draw your street. Create two dots on the bottom edge of your paper. Then, using your ruler, connect each of your dots back to your vanishing point.

    Vanishing Point Activity step 4 illustration (Draw Street)

  5. Now that you have your street in place, you can add in the buildings, houses, and trees along the sides. What do you see on your street?

    Vanishing Point Activity step 5 illustration (Add building)

  6. Bonus Tip: All the vertical edges of your buildings, the ones that are parallel to the left and right sides of your page, should be completely straight. The tops and bottoms of your buildings should always connect back to your vanishing point.

    Vanishing Point Activity Bonus Tip illustration (Add more)

Share Your View

Sometimes an artist’s perspective can be written as well as painted or drawn. Artist Sol LeWitt created instructions for museums to follow to complete some of his works. For example, CMA staff members painted the image below following the artist’s written instructions.

A wall-sized, color ink-wash painting shows three sides of a cube at the center, the upper side pink, the left yellow, and the right green in front of a solid, vibrant blue background. The bottom corner of the cube cuts off where the painting meets the floor.
Wall Drawing 590A, 1989. Sol LeWitt. 2012.66

Try This! Grab some family members or friends for this activity. Each person should draw a picture and then create a list of instructions for what they’ve drawn. Try to be as detailed as possible with your list. What shapes should there be? What colors should be used, and where? After everyone has completed their lists of instructions, trade papers with someone in your group. Complete your drawing by following their instructions. Compare your drawings. How are the works drawn from the instructions different from or the same as the original ones?

 

West Point near Small Point, Maine—Autumn, 1914. John Marin (American, 1872–1953). Watercolor; 71.1 x 78.7 cm. Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift, 2020.138. © Estate of John Marin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

The Autonomous Spiral, 1929, printed before 1979. Clarence John Laughlin (American, 1905–1985). Gelatin silver print; 34.1 x 26.9 cm. Gift of Tom E. Hinson and Diana S. Tittle, 2018.254

Barrel-Vaulted Arcade Rendered in Perspective, 1700s. Francesco Battaglioli (Italian, c. 1710–c. 1796). Pen and brown ink and brush and blue/gray wash, over graphite (ruled in places); framing lines in brown ink; image: 34.8 x 24 cm. The Norweb Collection, 1954.687

Wall Drawing 590A, 1989. Sol LeWitt (American, 1928–2007). Color ink wash; 543.6 x 1240.8 cm. Gift of the LeWitt Family in honor of Agnes Gund, 2012.66. © Estate of Sol LeWitt / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY