Pat Hill Cresson “The Gloucester Series and Shades of Summer”

Ceres Gallery

[Image: Pat Hill Cresson "Water Lily" (2016) 24 x 30 in. oil and wax on cradled wood panel]

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Pat Cresson’s recent paintings (2016-17) are abstract oil impressions on wood panels of places, feelings, thoughts and visual impressions. Her new paintings are poetic and are influenced by nature, her travels, her teaching and her accumulative life experiences. The unique color, textures, and organic and geometric forms become a layered composition of detailed yet simple and direct expression. The work describes both the oneness and complexity of life. This newest body of work reflects the underlying geometric foundation of nature, patterning, movement, and abstract icons influenced at times by her design work incorporating symbols and typography. The recent monoprints reflect a somewhat more literal expression of her ideas about nature and the surrounding world. “It is more important for me to capture the feeling or essence of the experience rather than the factual information. I want other people to have the opportunity for an open interpretation of the work without strong pre-described intentions.”

“A look at Pat Cresson’s recent work shows a remarkably consistent approach across the various media she uses. Whether one looks at the paintings and the prints on display here, or the drawings and digital images available on the artist’s website, there are floating areas of abstract color, a wide array of textures and transparencies, and recognizable images (or in some cases, the vague suggestion of images). Color is one of the artist’s strengths, and her use of it ranges from the poetic to the dramatic. The paintings, which tend to be more abstract than the prints, contain some of her most ethereal color combinations. Line is another strength, especially in the prints that utilize the inherently linear process of intaglio etching.
Dr. Kate Ogden, Professor of Art History, Stockton State University:

Cresson has often taken a collage approach in her creative work, and this is clear in both paintings and prints. In painting, the artist’s use of oils, wax, and mixed media enhances both the collage look of her work and her atmospheric approach to color. In printmaking, her use of chine-collé and the collagraph process heightens the variety of textures and colors in her work. Chine-collé involves the addition of thin, colorful papers to parts of the image; collagraphs require the addition of textured, three-dimensional objects to the printing surface. As monoprints, each print on display is a unique image. Over the years, Cresson has been influenced by the art of other countries and cultures, from the figures and patterns of ancient Egypt to the gold leaf of the Middle Ages. Her current work relies less on inspiration from the past, and instead seems to come directly from the artist’s imagination and her personal experiences.”