5. Arial Perspective

Arial perspective is the effect caused by haze in the atmosphere, whereby distant parts of a landscape appear fainter and less detailed. With pyrography you alter the temperature of the point or wire to produce the effect that the objects are receding into the distance. Most pictures have a foreground, middle distance and background, so what you do is slowly lessen the temperature as you go further into the distance. Also the foreground has darker darks and lighter lights i.e. more contrast, whereas as it becomes more distant there is less contrast and detail.

This is a way of using depth of burn to give a sense of space in a picture and to indicate recession. Look at the picture you are about to draw or trace and decide what your subject is, what your middle distance is and what is furthest away. This is particularly important in landscapes. Look at my example of a country lane. Note :- DO NOT BE PUT OFF BY THE GRAIN OF THE PLYWOOD! When you start working on lovely pieces of sycamore you will find your details and light burns more effective, because the wood has less grain and is whiter.

Exercise 5

Trace or draw from my picture below (or one of your own). Make the grass in the foreground detailed with quite a hot temperature point or wire, with some contrasts of light and dark round the fence and gate. As you pyrography the verge by the road and the tree on the left, turn the temperature down and do less detail. Then for the distant hills, have a low temperature point or wire, enough to indicate some shape only.