WHITE CAT (BP#3)

ARTIST: Gertrude Abercrombie.

FORM. painting (2D), oil on canvas.

TYPE. Representational.

STYLE. Still life/Illusionary. 

VALUE. 

The artist used cool pale colors with an illusion of the sun illuminating the room, falling sharply from the left side of the painting, implying a window, letting small shadows to be formed. Those very delicate and sophisticated nuances of shadows can be seen behind a cat, vase, and a left edge of a white tray placed on a table. It also creates shadows on a frame of a small painting, giving it an illusion of a grey color. There is a contrast between the dark, black floor, and the rest of the room, with light, pale colors.

LINES. 

The door is vertical, as expected to be, giving the painting some seriousness. It is peculiar that the white cat also stands by the door vertically, or better said, upright. Left from the cat and door, the rest of the painting is all horizontal: a table, a tray, the other smaller painting on the wall, the floor, the wooden slates below the painting covering half of the wall. All geometrically shaped as rectangles, give the painting a more relaxed, casual feeling as a score. Even the horizontal shapes in the small painting on the wall match everything else on the main one, including the clouds (!). It is definitely a pattern of horizontal shapes.  The vase, in its vertical position, almost matches the size and the shape of the cat though. 

There is also a very clear horizon line placed in the lower part of the painting separating the background (the wall and the door) from the middle-ground (black floor). The foreground would include the table with items on it, and possibly a cat as well, even though the size of the cat implies a distance as if it was in the middle ground. The position of the horizon line tells us that the painter wanted to be closer with us, showing us her creation from a closer perspective. Also, very thin contour lines created another wall on the right of the painting, where cat’s shadow falls upon. This wall gives us a sense of a distance, as well as the illusion this might be a small, narrow space.

TEXTURE. Seems a little bit coarse overall through the painting, especially in the main wall area in an attempt to give it a more real look, as if we could touch it, and dirty our fingers. Both walls represent the negative, empty space. 

COLOR. 

Except the neutral ones: black for the flooring, and a white for the back and a side wall, cat, and a tray, the artist used predominantly cool colors of variations of light blue (monochromatic), as well as green for the grass in the smaller painting. The only warm color is a dark brown which can be seen used for a miniature tree in the “other” painting, as well as for the table. However, the table that overlaps the black floor, the blueish wooden wall, and the door, is almost invisible due to insignificant contrast by brush strokes. It  blends nicely with the floor, and is almost overpowered by blueish 

colors. Its hiding position plays  a crucial role too, being so low on the painting to begin with. 

Even though the painting titled "White Cat" overall appears relaxed with smudged colors of white and light blue, it is peculiar that the artist decided to use black for the floor. Why not more blue colors? Maybe in attempt to give the painting a nuance of a serious tone after all (a vase without flowers). Especially since there is an impression that the cat, pressed in the corner against the door and the wall as if feeling anxious, gazes at us. The cat is the center piece of the painting even though the artist manipulates us into thinking it is just one of the items in her subtle, modest, non-pushy approach. Or better said, she doesn’t like to make things obvious. My personal emotional response is neutral and very relaxing: I could meditate gazing at this painting. 

SAAN, online website