Sketch of Our Cat, Slim

Strathmore Sketchpad, drawn with compressed Charcoal

Slim, our Abyssinian, loves to take naps (like every cat I know). She typically likes to find a blanket or some other cozy item to cuddle into. In this sketch I worked on depicting depth of field by the variations with the stripes. How some stripes thin and then twist, some go away, while others fold upon themselves.

This exercise involves the theory of Textural Gradient from The Perception of the Visual Worldby the psychologist, James J. Gibson. Gibson asserted that perception is based primarily on the structure of the environment. He identified thirteen varieties of perspective, with nine being of particular use to artists, who are working to capture the sense of space and depth in their work. The nine varieties are:
1. continuity of outline
2. size perspective
3. vertical location in the visual field
4. linear perspective
5. atmospheric perspective
6. perspective of blur
7. textural perspective
8. shift of texture or linear spacing (this is the predominate perspective method I used for the blanket)
9. transitions between light and shade

Gibson's book is available for sale, however as it is out of print and there is a demand for it, the book sales for more than what I feel willing to pay right now. So last year I visited the Library of Congress and read a big chunk of the book while taking notes in the reading room on a Saturday morning.