Art | The Daily Norm

Aug 17

Ocho Balcones (No.1): From the bedroom

Beloved readers of The Daily Norm may remember that during my recent blissful honeymoon, I painted a group of bedroom views which collectively became knowns as The Honeymoon Suite, for obvious reasons. I would never have thought that something so simple as a bedroom and its view might provide such potent inspiration, but then again, I am a home-loving man, and this applies as much to my trips away as to when I am in my own humble abode… and the cosier the bedroom, the happier, and consequently inspired, I feel within it.

Somewhat ironically, it took a trip away from Mallorca for me to realise just how inspirational are the surroundings of my home here in the beautiful city of Palma, and soon enough I set about painting a new collection, still very much in the production line, of views from my apartment. I am lucky enough to live in a home benefitting from some 8 little balconies, and hence my collection of the super-colourful street views we enjoy from those balconies is appropriately named: Ocho Balcones. Today I present you with the first – the view from our bedroom.

Ocho Balcones (No.1): From the bedroom (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown 2000-2015. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included on this website without express and written permission from Nicholas de Lacy-Brown is strictly prohibited. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacy-brown.com

Aug 12

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Mallorca Landscape (Chiringuitos)

Last Friday I was thrilled and proud to have one of my paintings featured on the front cover of the food magazine supplement of Diario de Mallorca, the island’s principal daily newspaper. The work was painted especially for the monthly supplement, which included a special feature on chiringuitos, the uniquely haphazard little beach cafe-grills which pop up all over the island on some of the most hard to reach beaches and calas and serve up the freshest fish to those lucky enough to reach them.

Mallorca Landscape (Chiringuitos) (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, oil on canvas)

But my painting represents more than just chiringuitos, although it features two, one precariously balanced on long spindly legs, and the other nestled against the side of a pile of rocks. This painting is also my homage to Mallorca, with a backdrop of the famous blue and white lenguas material which has been a protagonist of traditional Mallorquin design for centuries, and with a rocky beach setting closely resembling the kind of mysteriously surreal craggy rock forms which characterise Mallorca’s consistently surprising rocky coast.

Returning somewhat to my more surreal style, but injecting a fresh whiteness which I have not exhibited much in previous works, this feels like both a welcome reprise of a favourite style, and a new departure onto artistic pastures new, and in all things a devoted homage to the island I now love to call home.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown 2000-2015. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included on this website without express and written permission from Nicholas de Lacy-Brown is strictly prohibited. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacy-brown.com

Aug 4

Mallorca Sketchbook: Garden at the Son Viscos

Readers of my post yesterday will not be surprised that my short stay at the Son Viscos bed and breakfast in Valldemossa provided sufficient inspiration for the creation of a little souvenir artwork. For in that hour or so we spent in the fresh, sun-dappled leafy garden alongside the beautiful light-infused farmhouse kitchen, clutching a glass of chilled white wine in one hand and a book in the other, we felt utterly tranquil. It was as though time had stood still, and there was certainly enough to make this little sketch of the kitchen door, framed by creeping plants, with a rustic set of steps leading up to it from the verdant garden below. Precious memories, now enshrined in this page of my sketchbook.

Garden at the Son VIscos (2015, © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Jul 29

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The Honeymoon Suite III: Bedroom at the Arai Barcelona

My Honeymoon Suite series was never intended to be a suite of paintings as such – it all started with a moment’s inspiration at La Colombe d’Or which then led to a second manifestation when we moved hotels to Cagnes-sur-Mer. Having therefore established, in that second work, something of a trend, I knew that a third and final addition to the series was inevitable when we moved from France to our final honeymoon destination of Barcelona.

With its beautifully designed bedrooms characterised by exposed brick walls and classic detailings, the Aparthotel Arai Superior in Barcelona certainly provided the perfect backdrop for this third part of my Honeymoon Suite series. However in this painting the real action comes from the Plaça George Orwell, a bustling triangular square set in the heart of Barcelona’s historic gothic quarter, and positioned right outside our hotel bedroom. With its countless elegant buildings, shuttered windows and small balconies, together with its leafy trees filling the space, the square made for an inspirational view to match the indisputably chic interiors of our final honeymoon suite.

The Honeymoon Suite 3: Bedroom at the Arai Barcelona, 2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacy-brown.com

Jul 23

My travel sketchbook: The beach at Antibes

We didn’t spend long in Antibes… no more than 5 hours in fact, but that was time enough to sample the essence of the place, and it wasn’t all time spent on the move either. Sometime after lunch, when the sun is at its height and the heaviness of lunch feels like it is pulling your eyes closed for a siesta, we took a break on the little beach we found nestled in the rampart walls of the old town. There, sitting on a rock, I felt that I may as well get the most out of the sketchbook I had been dragging around with me all day, and opened its pages to make this simple sketch of the beach, and the familiar Antibes skyline behind it.

The beach at Antibes (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacy-brown.com

Jul 17

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The Honeymoon Suite II: Bedroom at the Château Le Cagnard

The inspiration which, at La Colombe d’Or, had filled the artist within me with a renewed vitality to paint did not leave me when we departed. Having painted the view from our bedroom there, complete with a small slice of our abode, I became intrigued by the prospect of doing so afresh each time we moved hotels and so, when we moved to the hotel Château Le Cagnard in Cagnes-sur-Mer, and when we discovered to our delight a room with an equally stunning view over the mountains north of the Riviera, I started work immediately.

The second of what I have now termed my Honeymoon Suite is therefore painted in the same line as no. 1 of the series, with a unity between the bedroom in which we stayed, and the view we enjoyed daily. From the cosy sage-tinted armchair happily appointed alongside the window, one could enjoy a view not only of the surrounding landscape, but of countless terracotta rooftops upon pastel-coloured houses. It was the very definition of the Provençal landscape.

Honeymoon Suite II: Bedroom in the Chateau de Cagnard (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Honeymoon Suite II: Bedroom at the Château Le Cagnard (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacy-brown.com

Jul 15

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Art on the Riviera: Musée Fernand Léger

I would be the first to admit that I largely overlooked the work of French artist, Fernand Léger. Although I was aware of his uniquely colourful works characterised by simplified figures painted with shaded tones and outlined in black, I had never really seen enough of them to heed Léger much significance. That grave error was to come to an abrupt end on my honeymoon when I attended the Musée Nacional Fernand Léger in the little town of Biot on the French Riviera. Seeing this artist’s magnificent work en masse, grouped together in a chronological retrospective of his life’s work, left me feeling uplifted and awashed by colour, and deeply, deeply satisfied by the sleek finish and positive subject matter depicted in his work.

Enjoying the Biot museum

Born in 1881 in Normandy, Léger’s early work was characterised by a personal form of cubism, and human forms were reduced and simplified; curling curvaceous hair became what looked like undulating metal sheets, and his paintings drew clear influence from the Futurist movement. Gradually losing people from his works, Léger’s paintings became even more abstractive before an about turn saw the reintroduction of the figure alongside often floating disorientated objects such as keys and blobs of sky and clouds.

Early cubist work leading back into figurative depictions

From this point onwards, Léger adopted a gradually more figurative, populist style as he sought to use art as a means of attracting not just the cultured set, but the whole of society into galleries, attracted by paintings depicting every day life in bright, happy colours, as well as working life, for example in his masterfully conceived works featuring labourers on scaffolding.

Later works

Beyond the galleries, the Biot museum offers an immersive grand-scale opportunity to discover some of the artist’s incredible sculptural, ceramic and mosaic works as demonstrated by the immense mosaics which envelop the building, constructed shortly after the artist’s death by his wife and business partner. In a garden laden with pine trees, Léger’s candy coloured sculptures are dazzling in the Riviera sunshine, while the mosaics explode in the landscape with all of the force deserved by this brilliant 20th century artist.

The museum’s exterior and its gardens

With his boldly simplified treatment of modern subject matter, Léger is rightfully regarded as a forerunner of pop art, and for me an absolute inspiration. I will never underestimate the work of Fernand Léger again.

Jul 14

My travel sketchbook: The Peyra Gate, Vence

I was more than grateful, when we visited the little mountain town of Vence in the South of France, for my own sense of foresight which had prompted me to take along my black bound moleskin sketchbook with me on our trip. For the town was so idyllically beautiful with its pastel-coloured shuttered houses and little cafe-filled cobbled streets that I knew that I would be promptly inspired to create an artwork there. And so it was that after a little exploration around the old town, and a trip to Matisse’s chapel, we settled down for a very english afternoon tea and ice cream besides the ancient Peyra Gate and its equally historic fountain, two such monuments which provided the inspiration for this quick sketch completed in situ.

The Peyra Gate, Vence (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacy-brown.com

Jul 10

Art on the Riviera: Breakfast at La Colombe d’Or

I wish I could claim to enjoy the kind of artistic notoriety and talent of those celebrated artists exhibited in the stunning collection of La Colombe d’Or and the Fondation Maeght, the latter being the feature of my last Art on the Riviera post. In the second feature of this series, allow me to indulge myself a little by featuring not the work of an artist great, but a painting created by myself.

Except that is not perhaps strictly true… for in sharing with you another of my honeymoon artworks, completed while we stayed at the blissful Colombe d’Or hotel, I am also sharing something of the work of much more famous artist, Fernand Léger. This is because in painting a work devoted to our experience of eating breakfast in the garden of La Colombe d’Or, I could not do so without featuring the stunning 1950s ceramic mural by Léger which is famously installed in the garden.

Breakfast at La Colombe d'Or (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Breakfast at La Colombe d’Or captures the random cosiness of the beautiful restaurant terrace as it was set up for breakfast on those sunny Riviera mornings. Still recovering from a heaving night of fine dining, and before preparation of the terrace for lunch, the restaurant at breakfast had much more of a relaxed feel, like a star of the stage before her makeup was applied. The old rusty tables around which Picasso once sat were scattered haphazardly without a tablecloth – this was only placed on the table when a guest chose from amongst them and sat down to eat petit dejeuner in a dappled spot. Likewise the little vintage metal chairs were randomly placed, their normal cushions not yet affixed.

Amongst this friendly scene, the ceramic mural by Léger continued to glimmer in the morning sunshine filtered through the large leaves of the garden’s fig trees, and on the table, an exquisite breakfast of rich coffee, pastries and fruit was served in La Colombe’s iconic branded porcelaine. Breakfast bliss.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacy-brown.com

Jul 8

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My travel sketchbook: Poolside at La Colombe d’Or

Gouaches were not the only art medium which came with me in my suitcase to the French Riviera. Anticipating the ripening of artistic inspiration as soon as I entered the artists’ favourite haunt of St-Paul de Vence, I ensured that I always had a sketchbook to hand. And it was within the first 24 hours that I opened that very same sketchbook, as we once again settled next to the pool of the La Colombe d’Or hotel. With Alexander Calder’s amazing mobile swinging idly just before me, and with the old hotel building ahead bursting with its cover of foliage, I could not resist this beautiful view, and set to work. And here is the result… all conceived in my trusty Staedtler pens. Who needs a pencil?

Poolside at La Colombe d'Or (2015, pen on paper © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown)

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacy-brown.com