Author: tanyakrzywinskablog

After working in the computer industry and spending some years conducting research into cinema and digital media, I became convinced that the innovative qualities of videogames as participatory media required closer academic attention. As such I have spent most of my career championing the inclusion of games within the academy, and arguing for games as an art form, a role I continue as a Professor at Falmouth University. Alongside this, and my scholarly work on the Gothic, I also maintain, in various forms, a visual art practice. This blog comes out of enrolling on the MA Fine Art degree programme at Central Sr Martins. It is mainly a record of my reflections on the work that I have undertaken for the degree. After having written about folk horror in games and cinema as an academic, this blog will focus on folk horror as a focus for my art practice.

S4 Aim

This sprint is the summation of UA1. Aims are to a) submit UA1 assessment, and, b) to experiment with some different approaches to the chairs in search of a different, resonant, and more contemporary stylistic approach. c) To attend (and then evaluate) a four-day course of Atelier portrait painting with the aim of appraising where… Continue reading S4 Aim

S3 Review back to chairs

The focus of Sprint 3 was to get back into drawing the figure as one of the key visual characteristics of Folk Horror is the figure in the landscape. I found that returning to figure work was challenging and raised once the issue of the relationship between the observed and the imagination, the representational with… Continue reading S3 Review back to chairs

S2: After the masters

Nocturnes On the advice of the painting tutor at Norfolk Painting School, I’ve made a couple of studies of paintings that I find interesting. The aim of these is to learn processes and techniques to inform my practice. Often such work can add additional forking paths to one’s practice-garden. The first choice was a Corot,… Continue reading S2: After the masters

S3 portrait

Working on a painting coming out of the life drawing session. Several passes after putting down the underpainting with the model in the room. Evaluation and learning I didn’t measure or grid up. As a result, things moved around even in the first stages. Altering my position meant that sightlines got messed up. NOW isn’t… Continue reading S3 portrait

S3 Aim

Sprint three is all about trying to build a body of work for the show at Morvah Schoolhouse gallery in April. I want some new work that is broadly figurative in nature. The sprint therefore begins with getting back into the life room to explore ideas, forms and ways of approaching the figure using less… Continue reading S3 Aim

S3 Life Drawing

After running a three-day life drawing as a means of supporting skills development for myself and others, a few points of reflection to note. 5 people attended. How hard it is when in the life room to focus on a task in hand in the first hour or so. The exercises that I devised for… Continue reading S3 Life Drawing

S2: Portrait

Applying the looser and more expressive approach to figurative painting. This is a work in progress…although I am going to move on to another version in a different style of the same image. I like the sense of contrast adding drama. The gold ochre and gold acrylic boule lead the other colour choices making for… Continue reading S2: Portrait

S2: Abstraction & folk horror

Following on from the work using techniques developed by Joan Eardley, I attended a workshop also focused on abstraction this time around the work of Peter Lanyon. This follow-on took up my renewed enthusiasm for a more expressive use of paint as well as focusing more intently on composition. A few points of learning and… Continue reading S2: Abstraction & folk horror

Sprint 2 aim

Main aim of Sprint Two is exploration. Starting out with a workshop focused on the methods employed by Joan Eardley facilitated by Jill Eisele, at St Ives Painting School. The workshop focused specifically on Eardley’s experimental and indirect methods. I chose this workshop to investigate a) random beginnings, and b)building more ‘feel’ and bodily engagement… Continue reading Sprint 2 aim

S2: Analyzing Open Studio & Sprint 1.

Over the weekend, our studio was open to visitors as part of a complex-wide event. It was very successful in terms of footfall, with 175 people on Friday, over 300 on Saturday and around 170 on Sunday. With 40 studios open, and a great cafe, the event pulls in a good crowd. The event itself… Continue reading S2: Analyzing Open Studio & Sprint 1.