Design a perspective drawing

At the beginning of the twentieth century, and before this painting was created in the early 1900s, The Rocks area of Sydney was experiencing an outbreak of bubonic plague which was a serious threat to the residents’ health. The disease was carried by fleas living on the rats that thrived in the squalid dockland area and it spread at a rapid pace. The situation called for drastic measures and many of the buildings in the area were demolished. The land was cleared and completely fumigated with chemicals to eradicate the problem. 

Sydney Long had a fondness for The Rocks. In contrast to this unfolding disaster for all who lived in the area, Long painted a series of artworks of the buildings as they existed prior to the outbreak of the disease. The result was a series of works capturing a somewhat romantic view of the area as it once was, with clean streets and well-kept buildings and was a tribute to the memory of the earlier version of this bustling dockside.

This painting was purchased by the NSW Government for the Art Gallery of NSW and transferred to the State Library in 1920.

Students will be assisted in:

• discovering ways to create images from their own personal stories
• exploring the elements of basic perspective drawing techniques
• applying this knowledge to begin an artwork of their own

Design a perspective drawing

Students will use a step by step guide to design a perspective drawing. This guide is available as downloadable resource in Activity 2 .

Materials needed for this art activity:

• Cartridge paper - heavy quality if possible
• Lead pencils
• Erasers
• Rulers
•  A copy of Sailor’s Return Hotel 1902 by Sydney Long to look at - IWB image or make multiple copies.
• Images of street scenes and buildings from a range of angles – make photocopies from SLNSW collections. Many themed sets of photographs can be found at the State Library of NSW's Flickr account.