I’m learning how to create the right perspective in a drawing. It’s all about how your eyes see things in the distance. 

This past spring I got a new iPad and along with it I got an Apple Pencil. I didn’t know exactly what I would use it for, but I really liked how well it worked and how responsive it was. 

So in the summer, on vacation, I started to fool around with using the pencil to draw things.

It had been years since I had done any drawing whatsoever … unless you count doodling on scrap paper while I’m talking on the phone. I do remember way back when I was in high school that I used to draw the album covers from some of my favourite artists.

I have absolutely no training. I don’t know anything about lines, shading or anything, including perspective. Some of my drawings I liked; others were pretty bad – certainly not good enough to show anyone, although I did keep them. 

When Lily and I had our kids, going out and getting a babysitter was kind of expensive for us. So we tried some creative dating at home. 

Once I came home with a couple of pads of drawing paper and some pencils. Lil, who is talented in drawing and painting, drew something that looked good. What I drew, well, I can’t remember, but it was not so hot. 

Fast forward to this year. In the summer, a couple of drawings I did needed some perspective and I found that really hard to draw. So I asked Lily and she gave me some tips and showed me what I needed to be doing. 

Still it was tough to get the right perspective. 

You have to be able to locate the vanishing point and make the drawing get smaller towards that point. Then everything looks right in the picture. 

Perspective is not just important for drawing pictures, but also for other things. 

Last night I was at a hockey game and had a person sitting right beside me. 

When the arena was designed, it was done with great care to make sure there were good sight lines all over the rink. Our seats are near center ice and we can see both ends … that is if people sit properly. 

The person sitting next to me decided to sit a little forward in her seat. In other words, she didn’t have her back against the back of her seat. 

Well, that wrecked my perspective. The arena’s design works and everyone can see only if everyone has their back against the back of their seat. If someone sits forward they take the sight lines away and you can’t see what is happening in the corners. 

She understood what she was doing to my sight lines when I mentioned it. But it wasn’t long before she was sitting forward again and taking away my perspective.

… I would have sketched her but I couldn’t get the right perspective. 

Here’s the thing: Things get blocked or they just don’t look right when you don’t have the right perspective. It’s also true with God. Without the right perspective, we don’t see Him correctly or He may be blocked from our view. Get the right perspective by reading God’s word, the Bible. It gives us a very clear picture of Him. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need proper perspective on right now? Leave your comments and questions below. 

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email inbox twice a week.