Posts from the ‘NormNews’ Category

Feb 2

Cappuccino: No longer just froth and espresso

Cappuccino is no longer just a coffee. The café chain which brands itself after the popular italian coffee has rewritten the meaning of this favoured frothy drink. For in Cappuccino Grand Café, the cappuccinos are just the tip of the iceberg. The café group, which is now a predominant restaurant brand across the island of Mallorca, with branches also in Marbella and Valencia, as well as a handful in Jeddah and Beirut, is the ultimate in café chic. It’s exudes sophistication from every bubble of its creamy coffee froth. Its waiters are dressed to impress – with bow ties and black armbands, they are like butlers from a bygone era. Everyone is beautiful, from the staff to the customers who almost become more glamorous upon entering as they allow a wash of Cappuccino couture to penetrate and tantalise all over, as almond latte replaces a standard coffee, and cocktails and wine bubbles aplenty become the new still or sparkling. In the background, a carefully selected soundtrack resonates, wafting the space with Buddah-barish chill and soulfulness, while earlier coffee stops are accompanied by the timeless polyphony of jazz. And to top it off, Cappuccino has managed, almost across the board, to secure itself the very best of restaurant locations, so that in Marbella and Mallorca, you can savour a tranquil seaside view, while in Palma de Mallorca, locations in luxurious former palaces have been made the norm (as opposed to the Norm – let us not confuse the two).

Norms at the Cappuccino Grand Cafe in Marbella (pen on paper 2012 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown)

So why am I going on an all out campaign to promote this amazing café chain? Well it’s certainly not because they are paying me in free almond lattes (if only – although if the CEO of el Grupo Cappuccino happens to be reading this, please feel free to oblige). Rather, Cappuccino fully deserves its place in my search of all things indulgent and beautiful, because as a place to go for lunch, coffee, drinks or dinner, it is sophisticated, beautiful and ultimately satisfying.

Cappuccino first came to my attention last summer when a new branch opened in Marbella. Situated bang on the paseo maritimo next to the Mediterranean, in a quiet and very exclusive spot (Lord Sugar lives close by, as do those lucky few frequenting the opulent Marbella Club Hotel and other establishments on the Golden Mile), it benefits from superb views and is sheltered from any adverse weather conditions by a canopy of mushroomed pine trees and lush garden surrounds which lead up to the nearest luxury hotel stood behind it. When I went there for the first time, having stumbled upon it during a long walk out of Marbella’s centre, I fell in love. The music, the sunset, the staff and the food which, compared to many Marbella restaurants is very reasonably priced, were spellbinding. There I felt like a pop star, indulged, relaxed, contented.

Cappuccino, Marbella

Cappuccino's smooth almond latte

By coincidence, I had a trip booked to Mallorca a few weeks later and there, since it is the island from where the chain originally springs, Cappuccino has marked its claim to various scenic spots all over the island. Such was the beauty of their location that we spent nearly every day indulging in at least one meal in a Cappuccino – for example on the port front of the stunning natural harbour of Port d’Andratx, or in a central square in the charming medieval town of Valldemossa, just round the corner from the Monastery which laid host to one Chopin and his lover. In Palma de Mallorca, there are four Cappuccinos and a number of take away branches and, mercifully, barely a Starbucks in sight (I say barely as there blatantly is a Starbucks somewhere but I have become conversant in the habit of shunning them in cultural locations). These are perhaps some of the most opulent Cappuccinos, set in former palaces with quaint patio gardens and candlelit tables set amongst vast baroque colonnades. On Palma’s vast paseo maritimo, you can sup on the luxurious almond latte in full view of the gothic cathedral, while on Palma’s answer to Bond Street – the Passeig Borne – you can people watch to your heart’s content.

CD Volume 5 of Cappuccino's own sensational soundtrack

And what to do to savour Cappuccino’s magic once you get home? Well the atmospheric soundtrack playing in every café is happily available to purchase – I have all five volumes of the Cappuccino CDs and play them on an almost continuous repeat. The first four make for marvellous coffee music – tinkling jazz and re-imaginings of popular melodies – while the fifth volume is the ultimate in Mediterranean chill.

I shall rapture no further, but leave you instead with a selection of snaps I have taken at the various Cappuccinos in Marbella and Mallorca. In the meantime, Cappuccinos website can be found here, including details of all the CDs.

Vive le Cappuccino!

: Cappuccino Marbella

: Palm tree lined Cappuccino Marbella

: Sea view from Cappuccino Marbella

: My travelling companion Bilbao adores Cappuccino’s almond latte

: Garden of Cappuccino San MIguel, Palma

: My mother enjoying the terrace of Cappuccino in Valldemossa, Majorca

: Cappuccino’s waterside Port d’Andratx branch

: Bilbao enjoying lunch at the Valldemossa Cappuccino

: Valldemossa

: Inside of the palatial San Miguel branch

: The Marbella branch

: Golden hues of the Passeig Borne branch, Palma

: One of Palma’s many Cappuccino takeaways

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2005-2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work 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.

2011: My year in photos (normsonline.wordpress.com)
Spanish Season 2012: Out of the frost, into the fire. (normsonline.wordpress.com)

Feb 1

3 Comments

Spanish Season 2012: Out of the frost, into the fire.

As the great winter freeze finally began to set in, we at The Daily Norm swiftly decided that the time had come to withdraw from our London offices, and to retreat instead to our little Spanish outpost. And so it was that with a little luck and a lot of expense (Easyjet – once termed a “low cost airline” has almost bankrupted me with its “low cost” flight to Malaga) we have arrived on the Costa del Sol, travelling almost as far south as one can go, while remaining in the confines of our dear, albeit economically shaken, Europe.

Yesterday it was around 2 degrees and lightly snowing when I heaved my suitcase (full of Norms…who tend to be heavy) off the Gatwick Express and boarded a flight due south. When I alighted the flight the other end, things weren’t much better. There was a decided chill to the air in the deserted, white-washed streets of Andalucía, and as a result my winter overcoat remained firmly wrapped about my person. And inside it was even worse – My family and I have found ourselves needing to gather desperately around little electric heaters wrapped in the contents of our suitcases – we look like those motley crowds who gather round vertical heaters on the windy platforms in large echoey French train stations with the result that you feel like a piece of bread toasted on one side – warm and cold all at once. The problem with these old Spanish houses (our home is in Marbella’s casco antiguo – postcard perfect, but otherwise falling apart, damp and consistently calling out for repair and a lot of TLC) is that they are built for the summer. Tiled or stone floors repel the heat while small windows keep the interiors cool. It’s as though their makers presupposed that the Costa del Sol would always be sunny. But it often isn’t, and in the winter, a few hours of daily sun do not compensate for a long night of sleeping inside a refrigerator.

Between seasons: Norm on a Spanish beach in the winter (pen on paper, 2012 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown)

What a wonderful surprise then when this morning we awoke to beautiful sunshine while not only lifted our spirits but the surrounding temperatures too. As a result we found our bodies quickly warmed from 2 degrees London, through to 10 degrees Spanish night-time to a positively summery 24 degrees basking in the sunshine this lunchtime. Like all things which are scarce in life, the sunshine is never more glorious, never greater appreciated than when, back at home, you know that your friends and compatriots are suffering in the cold. It’s as though you’ve made a lucky escape and are somehow cheating your pre-destined position in life. From London to Spain this has been like leaping from the freeze straight into the fire.

Needless to say, it’s now evening in Spain, and the cold has once again descended as the electric heaters have been boosted onto full power. The problem with these temperature extremes is that you really don’t know whether it’s winter or summer, because you fully experience both seasons in a single day. The key appears to be plenty of layers and a willingness to dress and undress depending on where the sun is, where the clouds are, and how much you can cheat the winter and steal the sun. Of course it also depends on plenty of heating during the evening, and as our electricity system is about as antiquated as our house, the whole lot will probably fuse any minute. With this in mind, I shall finish this post, leaving you with a selection of my photos from the day. Hasta mañana.

: Old town lamps

: Marbella’s Casco Antiguo

: Greenery reflected in traditional balcony shutters

: Old characterful frog fountain

: Orange Square in the centre of Marbella’s old town with the bust of King Juan Carlos

: Old town tile freezes

: Old town tile freezes

: Fanned out leaves of a palm plant

: Tacky but iconic – Marbella’s now rare elephant-shaped beach fountains

: Cappuccino at Barrocco

: I adore Spanish street furniture

: The view that made Marbella bella – La Concha mountain and the town’s harbour

: Looking towards the more famous Puerto Banus

: Marbella’s beach is lined with iconic postmodern architecture

: The bull is emblematic of the Andalucia region

: Focus on an interesting sculpture of a waterskier in a moment of frozen action

: My favourite cafe

: Lunchtime refreshment reflecting the palm lined beach front

: Cappuccino Cafe’s Mallorcan almond cake with almond ice cream is exquisite

Jan 9

4 Comments

Every Artist needs his teddy bear

The superb Grayson Perry exhibition at London’s British Museum (reviewed on my blog last week) proved an indubitable fact of life: Every Artist needs his teddy bear. Perry was unabashed in making his teddy, Alan Measles, the pivotal focus of his playful, yet sophisticatedly philosophical exhibition, feeding off the time in childhood when every young person’s mind is alive with the kind of imaginative creativity that most of us in our adult life can only dream of. It is only as children, unaware of the true gravity which attaches itself to most issues arising in everyday life, that we are free to run wild in the lush pastures of our imaginings, without responsibility, or worries upon our shoulders. To an extent, every creative Artist continues this spirit of childlike creativity throughout the duration of his career. However very few make their contemporary artwork in retrospective homage to the initial creations of their past. Grayson Perry does this with style, as well as sociological insight. But perhaps more importantly, he is not scared to emphasise the continuing importance of his teddy bear in his life and art at an age when he himself has young children, no doubt with their own cherished bears.

Pupillage: When the Bar took Centre-Stage (detail of Fluffy) (2011 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown)

I loved Grayson Perry’s exhibition because it embodied much of my attitude to life. I trained as a lawyer, and outwardly, I try, at least, to exude an public face of professionalism. But at home, and therefore as an artist, I indulge utterly and without compromise in the introspective world of my imagination, my desires and my aspirations. Home life for me is all about cosiness, and the loving security of my relationship. And as welcome accessories to that relationship, two very cherished teddies are held dear. Meet Bilbao: a cute knitted puppy, given to me by my partner when I was in hospital, and Fluffy, living up to his namesake – a chirpy little bear with ever enquiring eyes and a sweet inquisitive nature. These two little creatures follow my partner and I when we go on holiday, and they are always close by when I paint. It is no surprise therefore that they have featured in my artwork, and in my photography, and it is in homage to the public outing of Grayson Perry’s teddy bear, that I write this post, showcasing the role of my teddies in my work.

Pupillage: When the Bar took Centre-Stage (Oil on canvas, 2011 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown)

The first painting to feature one of my teddies is this one, which focuses on my time as a Pupil Barrister in London. For the non-British lawyers amongst you, this is a year specific to the Bar profession, when a young lawyer spends a year in a Barristers chambers undertaking intense training in the run up to full qualification. It is a tiring, arduous and, at times, traumatic year. The pupil is constantly assessed, always on the move, and tirelessly trying to impress his superiors. This painting embodies the pressures, depression and anxiety I felt that year. Pink legal ribbon ties me to the slave-ball emblem of the career. My body has become a marble bust as I have sought to metamorphose into the lawyer expected of the Establishment, while turning my back on myself. The profession has taken centre-stage in my life, while in the bottom left hand corner, my Partner, represented by Fluffy, has been sidelined, although the ribbon around his neck represents the extent to which my Partner too has become enslaved to the repercussions of this hectic career.

Separatism: Catalonia and the Basque Country (2009, Oil on canvas, © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown)

Separatism: Catalonia and the Basque Country (detail of Bilbao) (2009, Oil on canvas, © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown)

The next painting to feature a teddy is my work Separatism, based on the fractious political history and continuing stresses persisting in the partly autonomous regions of Catalonia in North-East Spain, and the Basque Country in the North of the country. The work, which formed part of my España Volver collection (2009) focuses on various features of the regions as well as the conflicts which have erupted in the past including the bombings instituted at the hands of terrorist separatist organisation, ETA. The rich diversity of the culture in these regions spins into a central vortex, while all around it, images from the two regions are fragmented like a jigsaw puzzle, except where the pieces are held together demonstrating signs of peace and unity in the regions. The image focuses on the architectural and gastronomic strengths of the regions, as well as famous sights such as La Concha in San Sebastián (Donostia) and Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. Meanwhile a spiralling red ribbon curls through the centre of the painting representing political red tape which, over the years, has hindered and complicated political progress. My teddy Bilbao is a small detail of the painting, wandering into the work in the bottom section. He floats in a safety ring in the seas of the rich coastline common to both Spanish reasons, and close to the marine symbolism which represents the maritime history which both regions also hold dear. His inclusion in the painting does not carry any special significance, but as he is named after the Basque Country’s great city of Bilbao, he thought it appropriate that he make an appearance.

Santa Norm (2011, acrylic on canvas) © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown

Finally, there is last year’s Christmas painting, Santa Norm, in which, appropriately, Fluffy makes an appearance in Santa’s sack of toys for all the girls and boys. Luckily, Fluffy already has a very loving home to go to.

I leave you with a selection of photographs of Fluffy and Bilbao taken on travels and at home. Enjoy being childish in life. Because we grow up fast and life is too short to take it seriously. Until next time…

: Fluffy and Bilbao ponder how immense the world is around them

: Fluffy and Bilbao are very studious

: Bilbao visits the Port d’Andratx in Mallorca

: Fluffy and Bilbao about to indulge in a sushi picnic in Richmond Park

: Bilbao plays being the barrister (but swiftly decides he doesn’t like it)

: Bilbao and Fluffy in the tropics

: Fluffy surrounded by flowers aplenty

: Fluffy in front of his castle in Krakow, Poland

: Fluffy and Bilbao watch the world go by on a cold day in Paris

Grayson Perry: Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman (normsonline.wordpress.com)
The Sunday Supplement: ¡Guerra! The Spanish Civil War (normsonline.wordpress.com)

Jan 5

Norm Profile: Robot Norm

Following on from my previous posts last year profiling some of my old Norm portraits, that is those painted in 2005-6, the last to feature (it was a limited collection) is Robot Norm. It somehow seems appropriate to profile this Norm now, futuristic as he is, at the same time as we are all heralding in a New Year full of possibilities, new advances, inventions and more and more things and places to explore, and in my case, to paint and photograph. Robot Norm was sold when it was first exhibited back in 2006 at my solo exhibition, Between Me and My Reflection. I believe he is now hanging somewhere in Southampton, and hope that he is very happy there.

Robot Norm (2006, Acrylic on canvas, © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown)

Robot Norm follows the same, illustrative style of my original Norms collection. In common with all Norms, he has only one arm, but unlike his Norm counterparts, he is an automaton, engineered, no doubt, by other Norms, but still retaining the Norm-like curvaceous shape. He is fitted with all the mod-cons which a Robot could possibly need – a dial pad, an electronic extendable arm, and an antennae, no doubt for receiving commands, yet his body is somewhat roughshod in its construction, with sheets of metal pinned like a patchwork into one metal whole.

Dec 16

4 Comments

All the joys of the Nursery School Nativity

The photo says it all doesn’t it. Deserted old baby doll, an MDF crib and a hastily assembled sheep made from silver foil rolls, cotton wool and PVC glue. Add to this several pairs of gold cardboard wings, some tinsel halos, 3 paper crowns (sharp-edge free), plenty of stripy sheets and even more recycled curtains and what do you have? The show any perfect Christmas wouldn’t be without: the School Nativity. It’s the pride and joy of every parent, but also the source of their greatest anxiety: Will they remember their words? Will they cry or have a tantrum mid-way through? Or will they, like the nightmare of one parent at a nativity my sister attended last year, projectile vomit all over the front row of the audience? For the teachers, even the smallest nativity is a mass production of prodigious strategic complexity… reminding the children to smile, to sing, to stop picking their noses, steering the little angels in the right direction, and pulling them away from where they’re not meant to be, remembering the words to the carols on their behalf and of course watching out for that same nativity-shattering tantrum.

Dec 15

9 Comments

Norms in Heaven and Norms in Hell

Back in 2005/6 when the Norms were born, my Norm-riddled imagination went all Last Judgment on me, and a diptych with all the foreboding power of the archetypal Renaissance altar-piece was the imploding result: Norms in Heaven and Norms in Hell.

Norms in Heaven features 10 serene angels, floating amidst fair-weather clouds, radiant in their angelic glory, relishing in the celestial music flowing from the golden instruments of three, while for two, the propagation of love is their priority, one one-handed Norm angel holding cupid’s bow, while the other helps to pull back the arrow in readyness for its launch into Elysium. However, even in this scene of paradise, there is always a foreboding reminder of what awaits those whose sins make them unworthy for the great pleasures of this joyful nirvana… the gateway to hell, guarded in all his intrusiveness redness by a demon Norm, a portentous warning of the visions of horror awaiting the viewer in the second half of the diptych…

For its audience of innocent little earthly Norms, Norms in Hell would be a shocking warning of the fate that awaits those who do not behave. For those Norms whose sins have necessitated a descent into the abyss, their arrival is through a rubbish shoot where their dead, rotten souls pile up in a New Arrivals skip. From there, demon Norms, eager to torture their newly arrived victims, spear the Norms through their side, before awakening their souls to a life of eternal damnation. Thereafter they will be subjected to the most terrifying of horrors, such as the scene of flogging on the left, being hanged from a column and left to roast in the fires of hell, or being caged up only to await an audience with Satan Norm himself, whose punishments deal the deepest and most appalling blows of all. Meanwhile the scene is dramatically lit by the glow of a lava river flowing behind, while on the other side of this burning deluge, further damned souls can be seen in their torment, behind bars, awaiting further retribution for their depraved and iniquitous lives.

Dec 7

1 Comment

Norm Profile: Cool Norm (2005)

Following on from yesterday’s Turner Prize blog entry, in which I examined the melancholy but strangely beautiful and atmospheric works of both Martin Boyce and George Shaw, it follows naturally that in today’s Daily Norm, I introduce you to one of my first Norm paintings, painted back in 2005: “Cool Norm”.

Nov 28

4 Comments

Paris Part I: Dali, Moreau and the problem of getting a good macaroon.

It’s Paris season at The Daily Norm, and here in the City of Lights, Paris pulsates with the buzz of pre-Christmas anticipation, millions packing the shops and the metro, the streets starting to sparkle with fairy lights, and a chill in the air coupled with the occasional waft of log fires from the Marais chimneys indicating that Christmas is close at hand.

But the city is not just readying itself for seasonal festivities. Tourists continue to pack and cram into every irresistible cultural corner, cameras flashing, and queues forming. Yes, those queues have been the bane of my Paris visit so far, curling tirelessly out of every museum, on the metro platforms, out of restaurants, and even to get into some shops! Our primary intention, as we set off yesterday morning, was to visit the Musée d’Orsay, my partner having never seen it before, and myself intrigued by the rehang on an allegedly revolutionary scheme of coloured walls which are meant to enable the impressionist paintings to glow more against their new backgrounds. However as we approached, it was possible to see, even from the Tulleries across the river, the masses queuing before the entrance, these queues snaking way beyond the old railway building and almost onto the nearby bridge.

Nov 25

Christmas comes to the Daily Norm! Snowman Norm, Santa Norm, and Christmas cards for sale!!

Christmas has come early to the Daily Norm with the introduction of yet two more next generation Norm paintings! Getting into the Christmas spirit (and I usually get into the Christmas spirit in around October, once I’ve given up on the summer and started indulging in the decoration displays in the London department stores) I have painted two new Norms especially for Christmas… Santa Norm and Snowman Norm. And not only have I painted these new Norms for your viewing pleasure, but I have also turned them into Christmas cards available for purchase on Etsy!

So, visit my Etsy shop to make a purchase of what must be some of the most original Christmas cards on the market! I am selling the cards in packets of 10 cards, each containing the two designs – 5 Snowmen, 5 Santas, with 10 white envelopes to match. And the price of £4.99 is not much to ask for these semi-gloss super quality cards printed onto a sizeable A5 to thoroughly impress every recipient! Buy quickly though… December is fast approaching and stocks are limited… and I’ve already started selling since putting them online last night!

In the meantime I leave you with the Norms themselves. Merry Christmas from the Norms!!

Nov 23

1 Comment

New Norm Exclusive: Flamenco Norm

Image via Wikipedia

From the first Norm I painted to the newest… during the last two days of the Daily Norm’s Spanish season, I will be presenting the two new Norm paintings which I have been working on while in Spain. This is something of an exclusive for the Daily Norm, and for me, as this is the first time I am presenting my “next generation Norms” to the public. Unlike the limited collection of original Norm canvases, the next generation Norms are slightly more sophisticated, benefitting no doubt from several years of interim painterly experience, although maintaining the same air of lighthearted joie de vivre as the original collection.

The first next generation Norm is Flamenco Norm. Flamenco Norm is something of a star. She exudes the energetic, impassioned movement of the flamenco, the multiple folds and frills of her polka-dot skirt swirling through the air as her body pulses with the intense and powerful rhythm provided by the guitar player behind her. Her arm is thrust upwards as the energy and spirit of the dance reaches the tips of her twisting fingers, while in her face, her eyes close in the intensity of the moment of duende, when all the raw, almost orgasmic emotions of the dance culminate in a moment of pure, uninhibited passion. Around her, the setting is an old flamenco club like those found in the smallest little villages of Andalucía, where the priority is not in the outmoded decor of the yesteryears, but in the moment of the dance. Hence the walls are starting to bulge and crack, the posters on the wall advertise past flamenco stars, alcoholic beverages and other flamenco paraphernalia, a single bulb hangs from the ceiling lighting only the star of the show, and the wooden floor is battered down by generations of dancing spectacles upon its resonant boards.

This is not the first time I have been inspired to paint the flamenco. Below is my 2004 painting Duende, painted to a degree in the style of Picasso, the dancer’s face betraying dual emotions as she both fights and indulges in the intensity of emotion rupturing at the moment of duende.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2005-2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from the 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.