The Daily Norm

May 5

Marbella Medley | Folio 3 – Seaside Jungle

My final folio of Marbella photos is entitled “seaside jungle” because this, for me, is what Marbella – a city abundant in plant life, people, exuberance and beauty – represents. The city, like much of the Costa del Sol, jostles upon the seaside, making the most of the beautiful sea views after which it was named – there, charismatic blocks of flats and beautiful white-washed villas overlook a seaside packed with loungers and sardine-filled barbecues, yachts and cafes. However the thing I love the most about Marbella is its equal abundance of greenery. For walk a few hundred metres out of the city and you discover a seaside walk full of every variety of succulent plant, of cacti galore, of secluded piers reaching out to see, of sun-dappled pine forests and of uninterrupted views out onto the coast of Africa.

This set of photos therefore gives an overview of the many facets of this seaside-facing city, from its old town bustling with colourful little houses and full of plant pots and restaurants, to its coastal pathways, its marinas and the joys of a lifestyle which allows engagement with the sea. I yearn to be back there, smelling the salt water wafting over the wind, hearing the trickle of the fountains echoing against the marble of old town pavements, and watching the sun setting over a shiny dark sea. But now back in London we are only one week away from my new solo art exhibition. So Marbella must wait, as the art is rolled out into London – come back for more on that, tomorrow.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. 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.

May 2

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Norms: The Saints Collection | Saint Jerome

Of all the stories of saints which I came across when first studying art history in my gap year, and re-encountered subsequently in my travels around some of the best of Europe’s art galleries, my favourite has always been Saint Jerome. Generally this is because in depictions of the Saint, Jerome is shown kindly tending to the paw of a lion (I am a Leo after all). So the legend goes, he tamed a lion because he had managed to remove a thorn from the poor Lion’s paw. On subsequent investigations, I have learned that this may not have been the legend of Saint Jerome at all, and that in actual fact, the same is said of Saint Gerasimus whose name is confusingly similar to the latin for Jerome, “Geronimus”. But Lion or otherwise, this kindly saint is also famous for being one of the most learned of all the famous figures of Christianity, and for the fact that in the course of his theologising, he was the first to translate the bible into Latin. For this reason the saint is likewise traditionally depicted surrounded by books and the other paraphernalia of study.

So in illustrating my latest Norm of the Norm Saints Collection, I have ensured that my Jerome Norm is accompanied by both the sad wounded lion, and the books and scrolls of study which are an ever constant in this Saint Norm’s life. His little study looks so cosy, I could quite happily take that lion’s place and spend a little time by Jerome Norm’s side, reading books and having my paws tended to. You can keep the thorn though.

Saint Jerome Norm (2014 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen, ink and gold paint on paper)

This is likely to be the last Norm of the Norm Saints Collection for a while – after all, my new solo art exhibition at the Strand Gallery in London beckons in just over a week. But hopefully more will follow in the future, when the divine intervention of all the Norm saints inspires me…

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2014. 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

Nicholas de Lacy-Brown’s new solo exhibition, When (S)pain became the Norm, will be at London’s Strand Gallery from 13 – 18 May 2014. For more details, click here.

May 1

Perfect in every way: Caperuza Bistro, Marbella

It’s very rare that you will ever get to enjoy a restaurant meal when every single dish is completely perfect. Even when I’ve had the most delicious high end tasting menus, there’s always been at least one dish which hasn’t quite hit the mark. But in the completely unassuming new little restaurant, Caperuza Bistro, which by complete coincidence is located a mere 100 metres from my home in Marbella, I recently had a dinner which was just that: perfect in every way.

The restaurant is small (just one small room with an open plan kitchen facing onto the narrow old town Calle Aduar) and perfectly formed. With a small team of staff, you get a friendly smile and attentive home-spun service right from the first moment of entering, while cosy candlelight makes the otherwise contemporary interior feel authentic and comfortable. The menu is said to work like tapas, although in reality, it’s more like a tasting menu than tapas, because the restaurant, considerate of the need to savour the complex flavours and stunning presentation of each dish, serve dishes one by one, so that every element can be enjoyed and you never feel overwhelmed (as is so often the problem with the traditional tapas format).

On the recommendation of the amiable waitress, we went for 6 dishes each shared between the three of us. The dishes were served consecutively, with perfect timing and small but adequate pauses between each. We started with a salad of super fresh raw prawns in a smokey foam with sensationally seasoned leaves dressed in orange and what I think was soy. The balance was so delicately and expertly executed that every taste bud in my mouth was tantilised. I can still remember every satisfying flavour now. It was a sensation that was to continue.

Our second dish was a chicken liver pate, beautifully presented in little glass jars with wafer thin bread. While the pate was rich and creamy, it was not overdone. The portion was a perfect size and the elegant crunch of the bread a perfect accompaniment.

Onto a dish of salmon tartar, spilling out of little crunchy cornets draped over an unforgettable ginger and carrot purée. Balance, balance, balance – this place had it all, with this dish another prime example which lasted but seconds before we finished it up – all washed down with the delicious bottle of Rueda chosen for us by the dedicated staff.

Could it get any better? Why yes, for up next was a dish of scallops hiding within another ample helping of seductively seasoned rocket salad whose peppery bitterness contrasted perfectly with an exquisite lemon and potato puree which brought the lemon groves of Sorrento alive in my mouth. Such freshness of flavour was countered only by the sweet and delicious caramelisation of the scallops. My only complaint – that this dish did not go on forever.

Thankfully, what I now consider to be the best dish of all was still to come. A dish of sweet sticky vermicelli noodles, with juicy big prawns, toasted almonds and garlic. I can’t tell you how delicious this dish was, nor properly communicate just how well the crunch of the almonds contrasted with the silky noodles, and how the delicate shellfish stock had caramelised into a golden sweet pasta sauce. Oh sensational.

Finally we dug into an equally successful dish of asian inspired duck served with a little creamy peanut puree. Need I say more about the excellence of this cuisine? (I forgot to take a photo of that one!)

Well yes actually, because dessert was to follow. And just when we thought the mains could never be beaten, along came a cheesecake mousse – I mean for god’s sake, can life get any better than this? Puffy little clouds of the most satisfyingly delicious mousse served with a little buttery biscuit on the side. And then there was the super fresh pineapple sorbet with a creamy smooth mango soup. I was in heaven.

My only hope now is that this little restaurant, which is relatively understated and slightly off the tourist track, remains open to serve this sensational cuisine for a long time to come. The quality of the food was out of this world, and simply could not have been anticipated from the outside of the restaurant, nor from the menu whose prices were so reasonable that one wonders how the restaurant can make any profit at all. But take advantage of those while you can, because if the chef continues cooking this well, they’re bound to rise fairly swiftly in turn.

Caperuza Bistro is at 22 Calle Aduar in the Old Town (Casco Antiguo) of Marbella, Spain. Tel: (+34 951 395 593)

Apr 30

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Semana Santa: Norms attend a Procession

In 2012, I embarked on the ultimate of Norm sketches, when I set about working on this extra large sketch of Norms attending one of Marbella’s Semana Santa processions. After much labouring on this sketch which is some 4 times larger than the scale I usually work to, I declared the sketch complete, but was never overly happy with the results. For me, the proliferation of white and pale tonal shades meant that the details were getting lost – the main parading figures at the centre for example couldn’t be all that easily distinguished from the crowd collected around the parade.

Two years later, and having expanded into the use of a greater range of grey tones starting with my Nativity Norms and then extending into my Norm Saints collection, I decided to go back to this sketch and give it a whole new tonal overview. So taking the sketch carefully out of its frame, I set about adding new shadows, colouring the sky and the ground, the tunics of the Nazarenos, and even adding touches of gold. The result in a sketch which I am so much happier with. The tonal contrast now encourages a greater narrative of the procession, and focuses the audience first on the parading figures, and only then the watching crowd. The use of darker tones on the ground means that the figures are now much more distinguishable, while the use of varying colours on the buildings does likewise with the crowd.

Semana Santa – Norms attend a procession – the 2012 original (© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

Semana Santa – Norms attend a procession – the 2014 revamp (© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen and ink on paper)

It may have taken 2 years to get right but hey, the result was worth the wait!

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2014. 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

Nicholas de Lacy-Brown’s new solo exhibition, When (S)pain became the Norm, will be at London’s Strand Gallery from 13 – 18 May 2014. For more details, click here.

Apr 29

Marbella Medley | Folio 2 – Semana Santa

Heading to Spain for Easter is often a risky business. Far from providing the wall-to-wall sunshine much promised of the tourism posters, my experience of the country at this time of the year has been that rain falls more widely than just the plain, and for more days than the tourist board would care to admit. And this Easter was no exception, with the Spanish skies tipping it down for 3 out of the 6 days I was on holiday there. Unfortunately, what this seasonal capriciousness also means in that the Semana Santa (Holy Week) parades, which are otherwise the other big certainty of a trip to Spain at Easter, will likewise be cancelled. After all, local churches cannot risk the damage which might otherwise be done to their priceless statues, many of which are centuries old, whose procession in the open air is central to the Semana Santa parades.

Happily, this year, save for the unfortunate cancellation of the big climax to Marbella’s Semana Santa festivities – the Easter Day parade – I was able to see a full set of stunning processions on each of the evenings when I was in town. With their military bands and mighty golden tronos, their multiple rows of candle-bearing conical-hooded nazareños, and collective of local dignitaries, these parades are full of all the pomp and traditional ceremony that a Spanish town or city can muster, and represent the centrepiece of a year’s religious celebrations.

As I have said on this blog many a time before, these parades are totally inspirational to me, and cannot help but move me, even though I do not share in the religious sentiment behind them. So even though this year must have been the 10^th or 11^th time I have seen the parades, I could not help but chase them all around town, taking photographs of each detail as I went. The parades, which largely run at night, are nevertheless notoriously difficult to photograph, and the set I am sharing today have their fair share of blurring issues. But I kind of like this, because in the blur you get a sense of the mysterious and solemn atmosphere which is created when you see the flickering candlelit tronos emerge from around a street corner, seen through the puffs of incense and candle smoke which are so characteristic of these parades.

Special mention also has to go to the military sheep who was perhaps one of the more unique aspects of one parade. Appearing to be some kind of military mascot, the sheep did a sterling job, joining in the parade for the full 4+ hours of its duration. With its tilted hat and little Spanish flag ankle cuffs, this sheep was fully dressed for the occasion and is so endearing that I have given him two photos in this collection – it’s only what he deserves.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. 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.

Apr 28

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Matisse at Tate: Colour Cut-Out to a Career Climax

The new Matisse blockbuster at London’s Tate Modern is a show of inexorable joy: of that there can be no doubt. With its whimsical vivid colouration, and playful motifs of sea algae and birds, dancers and blue nudes, it is an exhibition which is full of the happy spirit of the Mediterranean. And yet all of this was created during and immediately after a time when Europe was caught up in the ravaged turmoil of the second world war. How Matisse then managed to create such spirited works, not only during a time of such cataclysm, but also when he was himself frail and confined largely to his bed or to a wheelchair, is one question poised by this exhibition. The answer? Colour was Matisse’s escape from the horrors of war, and cut-outs the vehicle with which he entered the last great hurrah of his groundbreaking career in art.

In bringing together this show of over a hundred of Matisse cut-outs, Tate has managed a real coup. For these works, which dominated the last period of Matisse’s creative output, are merely gouache-painted paper, brought together with paper, sizzors and glue. The result are pictures which retain the same vibrancy that they had when they were first made, but are nevertheless so fragile that few ever leave the national art galleries which they now call home. Yet here they all are, together, many for the first time since they were created.

The result is an exhibition which can not fail to please. Starting with the original artwork and resulting first edition of Matisse’s best known artist book, Jazz (which I often paused over in Chelsea’s Taschen store but never purchased before they stopped the reprint, much to my regret), the exhibition moves onto what is essentially the genesis of what is to follow – the Oceana works. With one of the vast works, which originally acted as wall decoration in Matisse’s Paris apartment, featuring figures of the sky, and the other of the sea, these works were inspired by a visit to Tahiti 16 years before. But more importantly, the sea work was pretty much the first time that Matisse used the cut out image of coral, an image which was to become iconic of much of his cut-out works thereafter.

Oceana

That coral is indeed prevalent in the works that follow, as are the vivd range of colours cut from sheets painted by his dedicated studio assistants. I loved room 5 of the exhibition, which attempts to recreate Matisse’s studio in Vence in Southern France, whose walls were decorated, floor to ceiling, with cut-out works. Seeing the cut-outs grouped together like this makes them come alive as a collection. The variety of colours and shapes and sizes make the corals almost vibrate with the energy emanating from the collected cut-outs, and together the colours sing like an hallelujah chorus.

Coral cut-outs

As satisfying as these collected colours undoubtedly are, I could not help but admire Matisse’s famous blue nudes, all four of which are brought together for the first time. Intrinsically simple in both colour, and the seamless way in which they are cut from a single sheet of painted blue-paper, they really are images to be admired – and as a set they never worked better.

The exhibition ends with Matisse cut-outs on a grand scale, from Tate’s famous Snail (which was the closest Matisse comes to abstract, and in my opinion perhaps the least successful because of it), to The Mermaid in which Matisse intended, through use of bird, coral and fruit motifs, to bring the outside into his studio, something which he surely achieved with all-encompassing effect.

I wasn’t expecting to love this show. I’m not a huge fan of Matisse’s oil paintings which too often appear to me badly executed and fussy. But the simplicity and vibrancy of the cut-outs really appealed to me. It demonstrates the power of composition and the effect which simple colours can have when laid alongside each other. Many have criticised the cut-outs as mere child-play. But that’s a very easy observation to make when the idea has already been generated and all the behind-the-scenes work and planning exhaustibly executed. Masterpieces, perhaps, these works are not. Some may even pass them off as mere wall-coverings. But as a collective they are full of an inherent and enticing energy and joy which fewer more “masterful” artworks will ever be able to generate with such consistency or strength.

Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs is on at Tate Modern, London until 7 September 2014

Apr 25

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Marbella Medley | Folio 1 – Ripples and Raindrops

Regular readers of The Daily Norm will know that in December in Venice (rather appropriately) I became quite obsessed with ripples. Not so much the kind that occur in the round when you drop a pebble into the water, but the transient unpredictable kind of ripple that forms in a reflection on water, and distorts that reflection into the realms of pure abstract. What followed were various photos in both Venice and Naples, some gouache paintings, and even a woodcut.

So it can be of little surprise to you that when in Marbella last weekend, I hunted around the harbour edge like a magpie to gold in search of those same watery miracles. And I certainly found some. On a day so stunningly sunny it felt like the summer, we took the little tourist boat from Marbella along to Puerto Banus, and in the marinas of Marbella centre and the more famous dazzling port of Banus, I found sufficient ripples to keep me satisfied until my next encounter with the watery wonders of rippledom.

But even as the weather turned from glorious sunshine to rather depressing rain, the wonders that nature creates with water were still plentiful, and out with my camera I returned, to capture the beauty that can be seen in raindrops on flowers, and the dazzlingly abstract stripes created by raindrops running down a window.

The photographic results of all these quests can be seen in the pictures shared on this post. And just in case you wanted further confirmation of what magic can be created when a little water is involved, there’s also a shot of a fountain drop, and a magnificent mammoth bubble just to wet your fancy – ooh, see what I did there?

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. 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.

Apr 24

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Norms: The Saints Collection | Saint Sebastian

Next up in the fast growing Norm Saint’s Collection is Saint Sebastian. Famed for being the martyr who was martyred twice (once when he was shot with arrows, and second when, after that didn’t kill him, he was pummelled to death), Saint Sebastian is the saint whose writhing naked body, filled with arrows, has become as popular a gay icon as it has a symbol of religious devotion and a great favourite of artists through the ages.

My Norm Saint Sebastian is only the latest depiction of this saint to join the mass of works executed throughout art history by famed artists such as Titian, Botticelli and John Singer Sargent. And like many of those which have gone before it, my depiction shows this poor arrow-riddled saint tied roughly to a tree, while behind him, a beautifully bucolic background gives otherwise irrelevant depth and magnificence to the scene. Meanwhile, a host of dear little Norm angles are doing their best to try and save this most suffering of saints, by pulling out the arrows from his tender skin one by one in an attempt to save him from inevitable suffering and death.

Saint Sebastian Norm (2014 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen, ink and gold paint on paper)

Happily, as the story goes, Saint Sebastian did not die from his arrow wounds – miraculously he was nursed back to life by Saint Irene, only to be finally condemned to a more violent end when he taunted the Emperor Diocletian for not having killed him properly in the first place. Some might say he should have learnt his lesson from the first occasion he spoke up against the Emperor a little too loudly. But then he wouldn’t be a very good martyr if he didn’t suffer for his cause.

Up next: Saint Jerome.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2014. 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

Nicholas de Lacy-Brown’s new solo exhibition, When (S)pain became the Norm, will be at London’s Strand Gallery from 13 – 18 May 2014. For more details, click here.

Apr 23

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Musing on the Magic of a Marbella Morning

I’ve often thought that the true magic of a town happens not in the bustling middle of a day, but first thing in the morning, when the first rays of sunshine hit deserted squares, when workmen and women head quietly into the streets to prepare for the visiting masses, when cafes start to open up for business, and when the squares and fountains and pavements are scrubbed clean in readiness for another day. In Rome I remember savouring the view from my hotel window in the Piazza Della Rotunda at 6am, watching the elegant fountain being scrubbed clean in front of the Pantheon before the tourist masses descended. In Krakow likewise I would be mesmerised watching the cleaners out on the streets first thing in the morning, while from the Mariacki Basilica the Hejnalista trumpeter would play his mournful tune.

Marbella, one of the gems of Andalucia, is no exception when it comes to the tourist crowds. And while I often find myself becoming vexed at the sheer number of visitors who clutter up the streets of the city’s old town, which I am lucky enough to call my second home, I cannot blame them for wanting to visit. For Marbella’s old white washed streets and cobbled squares are amongst the most beautiful on Spain’s Costa del Sol. But for me, they never look better than first thing in the morning, empty and in the first sun rays of the day.

So when I headed out to Marbella this Easter, the first thing I did on my first morning when, accustomed to rising early in London, my body clock got me up early, was to stroll out into the deserted streets of the old town to enjoy these rare quiet moments of having the town almost to myself. The shop shutters were still closed, and the postcard stands hadn’t yet made it out onto the streets; the rising sun was casting long shadows over the cobbled squares; and the only people around were those few taking equal advantage of these quiet moments: to head up a ladder to change a light bulb in a street lamp, to mop the patio in front of a cafe, to quickly walk the dog before work.

So as Marbella gradually opened up for the day, I took a seat in the Plaza de Naranjos at the heart of the old town, sitting in one of the only spots being hit by the slowly rising sun. And with the square’s cafes only just beginning to open up, with chairs being unstacked and umbrellas gradually opening up around me, I gave the first order of the day to an open cafe’s lone waiter: churros and coffee, to be sampled slowly while watching the world around me awaken.

Now that is the magic of a Marbella morning.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. 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.

Apr 18

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Norms: The Saints Collection | The Crucifixion

It’s an image which is famous around the world; a depiction full of pathos, tragedy and the pain but glory of salvation: It is the crucifixion of Jesus, the event which sits at the centre of the Christian religion.

In depicting lately a series of Norms based on the art historical tradition of religious-themed paintings, I could not pass by the opportunity to create a Norm version of this crucial Christian scene. With its dark skies and bleak landscape, it is an image which evokes the full drama and horror of one of art’s most famous portrayals, while the hope of salvation which the event brought Christian believers everywhere is symbolised through the presence of angels. One in fact is charged with gathering up the blood dripping from Jesus-Norm’s wound; a representation of the fact that intrinsic to the core belief of transubstantiation, his blood becomes the wine of the Holy Communion and vice versa.

To his right and left, the two convicted thieves who died at his side are present, one depicted, as per tradition, as the good thief seeking salvation from Jesus, while the other is depicted as the bad thief, mocking Christ for giving into his fate. Meanwhile at the foot of Jesus Norm’s cross are the figures who consistently feature in depictions of the crucifixion – Mary his mother, Mary Magdalene, and St John the Apostle.

The Norm Crucifixion (2014 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen, ink and gold paint on paper)

For anyone religious looking at this work, take note that this is not an attempt to dilute the sanctity of this religious festival, but rather, as is the central aim of my blog, to reference and reinvent art history and the most popular depictions in art. There is no greater scene than the crucifixion to get across the Christian message in art, and my Norm version has to be amongst my favourite of all my Norm sketches. Happy Easter everyone.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2014. 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

Nicholas de Lacy-Brown’s new solo exhibition, When (S)pain became the Norm, will be at London’s Strand Gallery from 13 – 18 May 2014. For more details, click here.