bencressy

Floors and Experiments

Having a construct (the set of symbols and general sense of how the painting plays out) allows for a separation of ideas.
In this painting, I decided to limit the colors on my palette, and strip out the ornamentation of pattern. I was on the fence with this piece, but it has grown on me. It feels soft, but also slightly eerie.

Quiet Interior without Embellishments, 2023
oil on canvas
40 x 30 inches
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This painting makes me laugh. The inset painting of a person on a horse (all made up) is a bit ridiculous, as is the large, fleshy pink form of the rug. To me it looks like a tongue or a slab of processed meat. The dark form at the top is a ceiling shape, twisting off of the walls perhaps.

The Somewhat Humorous Interior, 2024
oil on canvas
40 x 30 inches
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Another clash of color, and a slippery warped floor on which the chair seems about to slide. This painting will benefit from a frame soon.

Interior with Warped Rug, 2024
oil on canvas
40 x 30 inches
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Chairless Interiors

Stripping the chair from the image allowed me to explore just the relationships between wall, floor, and ceiling. I kept the painting within the painting, as that allows me the opportunity to add some content to the image and discover possible meaning.

The juxtaposition of paintings on the wall started as a conflict between vertical and horizontal layouts. The image an 18th century puffed up nobleman with medals, and a reclining nude (originally painted as soft porn for the men of the era) seems rich in the possibility of interpretations, which of course I’ll leave to the viewer.

Room with Competing Pomposities, 2024
oil on canvas
30 x 24 inches
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The perspective grid on the floor seems to feel like it is sinking, or sliding down. The wall treatment of thick and brushy work evokes a storm, and the inset painting of a sailboat makes the painting a depiction of impending doom… a possible shipwreck.

Room with Potential Shipwreck, 2024
oil on canvas
30 x 24 inches
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Strange Color

Interior with Funnel Cake, 2023
oil on canvas
30 x 24 inches

This painting started from a current charcoal drawing, though the inset picture changed. I had wanted some ‘spooky color’.
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Yellow Interior with Looming, 2023
oil on canvas
30 x 40 inches

Every so often I attempt a ‘yellow painting’, which i find to be a difficult color. For the sense of looming or impending, I tried to use a more graphic approach.
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Interior with Hot and Impending, 2023
oil on canvas
30 x 24 inches

High intensity reds and turquoise (image is dark), and a strange shape impeding from below. Some stability, with a lot of sliding.
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More Charcoal Drawings, first half of 2024

Catching up on a batch of drawings.

Distant Charcoal Interior with Banana, 2024
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Charcoal Interior with A Few Distractions, 2024
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Charcoal Interior with Circle Rug, 2024
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Charcoal Interior with Ovals and Sweets, 2024
charcoal on paper
22 x 30 inches
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Charcoal Interior with Peach Missing Sofa, 2024
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Charcoal Interior with Tangled Rug, 2024
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Charcoal Interior with Cherry Tart, 2024
charcoal on paper
22 x 30 inches
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Charcoal Interior with an Emergence, 2024
charcoal on paper
22 x 30 inches
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Charcoal Drawings

In this group, I started working on a larger horizontal format. 22 x 30 paper. Conveniently, I also have a few saved frames that fit them fairly well. Switching to a horizontal format brings different challenges with the space.

Charcoal Interior with Coffered Ceiling and Plummeting, 2023
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Charcoal Interior with Slice of Bread, 2023
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Charcoal Interior with Competing ZigZags, 2023
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Charcoal Interior with Distant Chairs, 2023
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Charcoal Interior with Shifting Attentions, 2024
charcoal on paper
22 x 30 inches
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Charcoal Interior with Twisting Walls and Portrait, 2024
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Charcoal Interior with Sloping Walls and Slice of PIe, 2024
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Charcoal Interior with Expanding Flat, 2024
charcoal on paper
22 x 30 inches
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Drawings Catchup 2, 2022-23

There are a few more from 2023 that haven’t yet photographed and processed.

Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Flat Tube Rug, 2023
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Opposing Views, 2023
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Thrashing Carpet, 2023
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Creeping Tangle, 2023
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Confounding Louvers, 2022
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Table Encroaching, 2022
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Grand View, 2022
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Rug Around the Corner, 2022
charcoal on paper
23.5 x 17.5 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Oversized Wallpaper and Curtains, 2022
charcoal on paper
23.5 x 17.5 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior Outside with Circular Rug, 2022
charcoal on paper
23.5 x 17.5 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Impending Ceiling, 2022
charcoal on paper
23.5 x 17.5 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Lonely Chair and Plummeting Rug, 2022
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Coffered Rug, 2022
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior Off Kilter, 2021
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Drawings Catchup 1 2020-21

Just updating content.. These are some drawings from 2020 to 2021 (and one 2022)

Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior Sliding Between Expectations, 2022
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior Dominated by Whirlwind Table, 2021
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Overwhelming Wallpaper and Spiraling Rug, 2021
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Paradox or Coincidence, 2021
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Patterned wall and Big Empty, 2021
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior Unfolding with Coffered Ceiling, 2021
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Tempest, 2021
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Interior with Pointed Rug, 2021
charcoal on paper

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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Distant Compromise, 2021
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior Off Kilter, 2021
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Flat Black and Gray, 2020
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Voids, 2020
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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Benedict Cressy
Charcoal Interior with Folding, 2020
charcoal on paper
24.5 x 19 inches
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A drawing

Just posting a drawing…
Most drawings are their own thing. I do find myself occasionally borrowing a part from a drawing to use in a painting, or vice versa. This conversation pit rug came after the painting.  And in other news, I’m switching hosts, so chasing down who’s who and whens when.


Charcoal Interior with Dramatic Rug, 2023
charcoal on paper
24 x 19 inches

Expanse

I have always loved brushwork for its own sake. I love it on Sargent’s clothing, and in Resnick and Guston field paintings. I follow that tradition, but use it in context of an interior space. A floor turns into a wall and dissolves into a swirling void, an expanse that transcends simplified descriptions of walls/furniture/interior. Something about seeing the expected plane turn into the sublime dance paint and brush gives me joy.

Interior with an Opening, 2022
oil on canvas
40 x 30 inches
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Interior with Rifts, 2022
oil on canvas
30 x 40 inches

This painting does hold more meaning for me It is a tearing apart of the cultural fabric over absurd false dichotomies. It is as absurd as fighting over whether a slice of cake or a donut is better.
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Interior with Conflicted Rug and Yellow Chair, 2023
oil on canvas
24 x 18 inches
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Rugs and Carpets

With wallpaper skewing the perspective, the next plane to engage with is the floor. Playing with rugs and carpet design leads me into more options for painterly exploration. Sometimes I want to play with curves and squiggles, or more angles that distort the perspective. It can be a fine line between disorienting and just enough mental tickle. Occasionally it entices me to add a further illusion of sinking depth. That might have some meaning, but I’m not sure I want to go there…

Interior with Rift and Pie, 2021
Acrylic then oil on canvas
40 x 30 inches
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Interior with Lonely Chair and Plummeting Rug, 2022
oil on canvas
24 x 20 inches
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Interior with Conversation Pit Rug, 2022
oil on canvas
40 x 30 inches
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Interior Comparing Options, 2023
oil on canvas
40 x 30 inches
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Interior with Missing Furniture and Art, 2023
oil on canvas
30 x 40 inches
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Interior with the Wrong Color Chair, 2023
oil on canvas
30 x 24 inches
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Interior with Looming Carpets and Desserts, 2023
oil on canvas
24 x 30 inches
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Interior with Possible Equilibrium, 2023
oil on canvas
24 x 18 inches
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Interior with Voluminous Flats, 2023
oil on canvas
28 x 22 inches
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