Give Me Some Space!

By Rebecca Ogle

How space and volume are created in a work.

Designed to Drive You up the Wall

Barry Cleavin Designed to Drive You up the Wall 1983

Linear perspective - pioneered by Brunelleschi and Alberti in the 15th Cenury to provide a workable formula for perspective involving converging lines to a distant vanishing point.

Spoerri’s Table

Michael Dell Spoerri’s Table 1993

Tonal modelling and shading - suggests three dimensions. Shadows in this work also imply space.

Portrait of Betty Curnow

Louise Henderson Portrait of Betty Curnow 1954

Foreshortening - object appears shorter than it actually is because it is angled toward the viewer.

Dry September

Bill Sutton Dry September 1949

Placement and scale - placing different sized objects in the foreground, mid ground and distance establishes an implied space.

Spencer Range (The Faerie Queene)

George Herbert Elliott Spencer Range (The Faerie Queene)  

Aerial perspective - distant forms are painted in lighter tones to suggest the veil of hazy atmosphere between the viewer’s eye and the distant object.

Radio On

Bill Hammond Radio On 1985

Unconventional angels create a strange sence of spacial depth in this work adding to the chaotic scene.

Bridge, Mt Cook Road

Rata Lovell-Smith Bridge, Mt Cook Road 1933

Colour perspective - cool colours like blues and violets recede and warm colours like the ochres advance.