Days away from the move back to NYC!

Well after an incredibly exhausting and draining month of organizing, packing and storing not only all the stuff in my 1200sf loft but more than 30 years of stuff in my folk's house (they will be selling their house this year as well) I am about 98% ready to drive to NYC for the start of the semester. 

Last night after feeling like I was about to collapse I drove up to Maine to spend a couple of days just relaxing and floating in the lake, to rest my body and mind and to re-energize for next week's move.

I'll be heading out of Maine Monday, then leaving for NYC from Boston on Wednesday or Thursday after one last organizational push to get as much crammed into my 4Runner as possible. Whatever doesn't fit in, or on the truck will go into storage, though my storage unit is about maxed out at this point as well.
Then I'm off.

Once I get to the city and settled in I'll be posting a more complete blog with info on my schedule for the semester, and some images of the city and the Academy.

I received my class schedule for the semester and am thrilled with the instructors I've gotten. It'll be an amazing, and as I've been told, intense and non-stop semester. 

Hope all your summers go well, and I'll hope to hear from you all soon via phone, email, Facebook, Twitter or even an old fashioned paper letter. I'll send out my physical address from the city.

In the meantime, below are a couple of photos from the packing chaos of this month. It hurts my back just to see them on screen again!

A presto,

ian 

Packing up the Boston loft, so many boxes of paintings and frames.

The 10x15 foot storage unit, almost full...ouch.

Summer Prep For the Move to NYC...
and an Open Studio this Saturday the 21st from 11am-5pm!

Less than two months away 'till the start of the fall semester at the NYAA. It's been an interesting and busy month to say the least, last blog entry was two weeks ago, and in that time I've been setting the schedule for the upcoming few weeks of packing, prepping and storing all my stuff before I take off.


I've grown more familiarized and comfortable with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the like, so when I get to the Academy it'll be as seamless as possible to continue the updates and news.


Today the fall class options for the Academy were emailed so I'll be picking all my courses for the 1st semester and registering next week. The idea of setting up my schedule brings excitement for the prospect of putting everything aside for the next two years to just study and produce.
I can't wait...it seems surreal at this point.


In other news, I'll be having an Open Studio this coming weekend, Saturday July 21st from 11am - 5pm. Below is a link to my last newsletter with all the information. 
There'll be great music, nice COLD beverages and of course, lots of paintings, drawings and prints for your purchasing pleasure! 
Click HERE for the newsletter:

One of the pieces in the upcoming Open Studio

The Flower Goddess (Xochiquetzal) • 34" x 54" • Oil on Canvas • ©Ian Factor 2012

As soon as the open studio is over, I'll be packing almost everything up into storage. Then I'll be heading to NYC during the first week of August to look for an apartment / room to rent, I'll be there for just a couple of days, then back to Boston to take care of the rest of the packing and to transfer my studio here over to the new occupant. I'll then spend a couple of days in Maine to relax in the woods and by the lake, paint and set my mind for the transition. I plan to move to NYC in the 3rd week of August. Orientation at the Academy is September 10th.


In the meantime, I am working on a new portrait, I have included an image below, and plan to get it done in the next few days. The challenge with this one was the difficult light and subtle halftones across the face...a warm yellow incandescent light from inside of her office, above and to the subject's right and the cool blue outdoor overcast light streaming in through the window to the subject's left. This all created a strange and tricky effect through the middle of her face where the warm and cool lights collide. It's so subtle in the flesh tones, more obvious in her hair.

Newest Portrait - In Progress  • 40" x 30"  Oil on Canvas • ©Ian Factor 2012

I'll be continuing to head out for some plein air work even after my studio is packed up here as well. My French Easel and Pochade Box will be by my side during the move. In the next week or so I'll be posting a blog with a description and photos of my home-made Pochade Box, or "small travel paint box", for those who are so inclined to make your own and save 200-300 dollars from the price of buying one pre-made!


Don't forget you can always check in and see what's new on Twitter and Facebook by accessing the links in the window to the right...and NOW on Instagram, which is a great fun way to share photos immediately with the world. Just download the app to your smart phone and search for "ianfactor"...I'm just beginning to load photos there and as the semester begins and the new work and events start happening there will be many more photos and many more updates.


Hope to see everyone at the Open Studio this Saturday, and if you can't make it to that, stay in touch and keep checking in on the blog, I'll be updating it more regularly from NYC once I settle in.


See you soon, in person or in the virtual world.


ian

Chelsea River Sunset

Driving home along the Chelsea River tonight at sunset I caught a glimpse of a moment that summed up my feelings about leaving this town and moving back to NYC...at least for the time being.


These old oil (gas?) tanks seem to be in the midst of being dismantled, and one of the caps with the #7 lays in the foreground. It almost looks like the wing or tail of an old downed fighter plane, perhaps one of the fighters from my earliest drawing memories in second grade. (see earlier post with "Statement Of Purpose" for NYAA). The barbed wire fence trying to keep me in...or out, but not for long. 


The coloring of the clouds and reflection off the buildings on the far side of the river look, ironically, like the result of a burning city. (On April 12, 1908, nearly half the city was destroyed in the First Great Chelsea Fire. In 1973, the Second Great Chelsea Fire burned 18 city blocks.)


And beyond the steel wire barbed, the fallen fighter wing and monstrous silver-gold fuel tanks, beyond the fire red reflections on the buildings along the river banks Chelsea, past the burning clouds at sunset and into the clear cerulean sky lies New York City.
My Big City Mistress. 
I'll be there soon.

Chelsea River Sunset  • June 29th, 2012 • © Ian Factor 

In Progress Portrait - Right Hand Detail

Trying to finish up a Portrait I'm working on this weekend. Here's a small detail of the right hand, in progress, showing the loose brushwork I hope to hold onto through the rest of the piece. 
I'll post another update by the end of the weekend with more images closer to finish.

Detail of right hand - Beverlee Vidoli Portrait  • 40" x 30" Oil on Canvas • ©Ian Factor 2012

Cafe Sketching


Gearing up for the move back to NYC and the initiation into the New York Academy, I'm prepping, packing and planning. In the midst of all the changes, I still make time for a few minutes a day of cafe sketching...sometimes more than just a few minutes.


Below is a 5 minute pen & ink sketch from an air conditioned cafe in Harvard Square today, a nice respite from the 98 degree heat and humidity. The lighting wasn't great but the Ginger Lemonade was amazing and the subjects seemed to intrigue me enough to pull out the sketchbook.


Generally these ink sketches are done in 1-5 minutes using an antique fountain pen with a 14 karat gold flexible nib made by Waterman. A couple of minutes is just enough time to make the clear statement I wish to make about a given subject. Once I start the drawing and the person inevitably moves, changes position completely or gets up and leaves, I wait for them to shift back or re-express whatever it was that first struck me...I then attempt to stay true to the memory of the first thing that caught my attention. If they get up and leave, someone sits in the way or they just change position too much, the sketch is done. 


Sometimes it's just a fleeting expression that moves me, sometimes it's the way the light falls on the brow or the upper lip, sometimes it's a body posture or an interesting angle...sometimes when everything aligns, it's all of the above. Once the energy of the moment is passed, I cease working on that sketch...only then do I feel I have captured an accurate record of that particular moment. If I lose sight of the original inspiration and / or the actual subject leaves but I continue to work on the sketch, 99% of the time it loses whatever "truth" was there to begin with, if at all.


So it's an exercise in awareness, precision, speed, sensitivity, patience and unobtrusive observation,
among other things...and of course, occasionally an exercise in sharing interesting conversation or avoiding a potentially awkward one.


I'll be posting more cafe sketches and thoughts on such throughout the summer and, naturally, after I arrive in NYC.


Stay tuned!

5 Minute Pen and Ink Sketch - Cafe Crema, Harvard Square • 6-20-2012 •  ©Ian Factor

Just updated my Website with new paintings from the "Lobstermen Series", an updated News & Info Page with the New York Academy Of Art announcements, updated Resume and Bio, and a new image on the Photography Page...

Plus new links to my NYAA Blog and Twitter page. 

Stay Connected!

http://www.ianfactor.com/figurative.html

http://www.ianfactor.com/news.html

http://www.ianfactor.com/resbiostate.html

http://www.ianfactor.com/photo.html

Studio Brushes • Keen Lofts •  ©Ian Factor 2012

Today, another piece of amazing news...

I was informed by the NYAA that I'll be receiving the "New Media Scholarship" award for 2012-2013!

It's an incredible honor and opportunity and I'm so grateful and thrilled!

Thank you to Andrew Mueller and the members of the Scholarship Committee! 

With the initiation of this blog, my twitter account, (https://twitter.com/#!/IanFactor)
and the continuation of utilizing Facebook, (http://www.facebook.com/ian.factor.7) and my website, (www.ianfactor.com) I'll be regularly posting, tweeting and sharing my own personal experiences, work and progress as well as news-worthy, interesting and informative blasts of information about the artists and events of the Academy in general.

Once I get back to NYC and the semester begins (Sept. 10th is orientation) I'll have more, and more diverse images, updates, videos and news to share. 

In the meantime, here's a photo I snapped with my iPhone in the Cast Room at the Academy last month when I was there for the MFA Thesis Exhibition. This is only a small selection of an incredible collection of stunning casts that the students regularly work from. YES!!!

A few of the many casts at the New York Academy Of Art.