Posts tagged ‘Art’

Dec 19

The Norm Nativity | Visit of the Three Wise Norms

The Shepherd Norms weren’t the only Norms heading towards the stable in Bethlehem. Three exceptionally wise Norms who each in turn lorded over little glittering neighbouring kingdoms in Eastern Normland had heard about the birth of a new King of Kings, a Norm to save all of the world, and decided that it was only right and proper that they visit this future great Norm a visit. And how to find this little Norm who had been born in a mere stable without an address? Well luckily an ever brightening star had appeared before their path, and guessing that the star was acting as a kind of celestial guide towards their destination, the three Wise Norms followed the star towards Jesus Norm.

The only problem was that the star kept on moving, and as it did so took the Wise Norms over fields and mountains, rocky plains and wide expanses of perilous sandy desert. Luckily they were not on foot, travelling instead upon the seated humps of their trusty camels, ensuring that not only their lavish persons remained clean and unweathered by the journey, but also that their presents of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh remained safely installed above all of the sandy terrain. Let’s hope they make it to Bethlehem safely…

The Three Wise Norms (2013 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen and gold paint on paper)

Come back next time, to see where both the Wise Norms and the Shepherd Norms ended up! In the meantime, here is Matthew’s account of the Magi’s visit, the only one of the gospels to mention it.

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'” Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another path.

Matthew 2:1-12

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2013. 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

The Norm Nativity | Journey to Bethlehem (daily-norm.com)
The Norm Nativity | The Annunciation (daily-norm.com)
The Norm Nativity | Angels visit the Shepherds (daily-norm.com)

Dec 16

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The Norm Nativity | Angels visit the Shepherds

In the last installment of the Norm Nativity, we left poor Mary Norm and Joseph Norm upon their arrival in the little town of Bethlehem. With not a room to be found in inn nor hotel, they were facing a night out sleeping rough – hardly the best conditions for giving birth to the promised one. Luckily for them, the surprisingly sharp intuition of Nancy the donkey led them all to a far warmer and cosier alternative (if a little pongy) – a stable on the outskirts of town, where soon enough Mary Norm lapsed into the inevitable agonies of labour, and gave birth to a darling little Norm baby who they called Jesus Norm, who was very soon comfortably installed on a bed of hay in a manger.

The birth of Jesus Norm very soon caused waves of celestial excitement. Above the stable, a particularly bright star grew even brighter, and in the stars around it, angel Norms started gathering to celebrate the birth, flying then from place to place to spread the great news. One of the first places they visited was a nearby field, where a group of shepherds sat about having a little evening supper after a hard day looking after their not insubstantial flock. When the shepherds caught sight of a group of angels coming towards them, they almost collapsed in shock – their poor little sheep didn’t know what to do with themselves and promptly hid behind their shepherd masters. Only when the excitement of the news relayed by the angels sunk in did the shepherds (and the sheep) begin to settle, jumping up with some excitement and declaring that they must visit the baby forthwith!

So unto Bethlehem the shepherds headed then, to see little baby Jesus Norm in all his glory. Join the Norm Nativity next time to see who else is making their way to celebrate the birth.

Angels visit the Shepherd Norms (2013 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen and gold paint on paper)

In the meantime, here’s how another writer, one Luke, described the angels’ visit in the bible:

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

Luke 2: 8-15

The Norm Nativity | The Annunciation (daily-norm.com)
The Norm Nativity | Journey to Bethlehem (daily-norm.com)

Dec 12

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The Norm Nativity | Journey to Bethlehem

In the last instalment of The Norm Nativity, we left Mary Norm just as she had learnt the startling news, from her visitor Angel Gabriel Norm, that she was due to give birth to a son called Jesus Norm. The visit from a flying angel would have been startling enough, but the news that Mary was somehow inexplicably become pregnant despite being an untouched virgin was enough to make the hardest of souls go soft in the head. But not Mary Norm. Strengthened with the affirmation that the baby Norm she was carrying would one day be a saviour of the world, she was determined to do this properly. And so, having told her then boyfriend, now hubby Joseph Norm the rather stunning news (and having finally got over the months of arguments when he accused her of having an affair – it was inevitable I suppose), Mary Norm and Joseph Norm set out on their old little donkey, Nancy, and made their way to Bethlehem, the city of Joseph’s birth and thus where they were required to register the oncoming birth of their child.

As Luke more eloquently tells us…

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
And all went to be registered, each to his own town.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

Luke 2:1-5

Journey to Bethlehem (2013 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen and gold paint on paper)

So over hostile terrain they travelled for days, their worldly possessions, and the heavily pregnant Mary Norm pilled upon poor Nancy’s back, trekking across dessert and wide open plains until finally they could see the little town of Bethlehem glittering like a mirage in the distance. But their relief was short lived, for no sooner had they made out the outline of the city than they had caught sight of various road-side advertising posts advertising hotels and inns – yet all of these adverts bore the ominous news that all of the accommodation was booked up! (Well, it was Christmas I suppose…) What would Mary Norm and Joseph Norm do? Find out… next time!

The Norm Nativity | The Annunciation (daily-norm.com)

Dec 9

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Paris | Art tour 2013 – Vallotton

The incredible thing about Paris is not just the quality of the exhibitions it puts on, but how many of those quality shows it manages to host in a single season. The Grand Palais alone has some 4 or more exhibitions showing at any one time, and as Dominik and I took the long walk around the huge neo-classical structure that is the Grand Palais, we noticed that there were queues lining the building on almost all four sides – testament not just to the popularity of its exhibitions, but also to how many exhibitions were showing in the space of a single (admittedly huge) building.

The benefit of these multiple shows (and also the disadvantage if you fatigue easily) is that when you buy one ticket, you can combine your first exhibition with another – or in fact the lot. So having been wowed all morning by the cubist prowess of Georges Braque, and braked for lunch in an excruciatingly expensive brasserie nearby for snails and an ‘amburger (imagine said in a French accent) we returned to the great palace of art to see the second of their major autumn retrospectives: a show devoted to the work of Felix Vallotton.

Vallotton paintings in the “aesthetic sythetism” style

I wasn’t familiar with either the name Vallotton or his work before I ventured to Paris this autumn. However, as a quasi-member of the French Nabis movement of art, I was already familiar with a number of Vallotton’s artistic allies – Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard and Edouard Vuillard being amongst their number. The Nabis were a group of post-impressionist avant-garde artists who took their name from the word Nabi which means a prophet in Hebrew and Arabic. They were so called because they believed that their art revitalised painting in the same way that the ancient prophets had rejuvenated Israel. At the heart of their movement was another term, or style of art, sythetism, which involved the flattening of colour panes and shadows, a heavier reliance on dark outlines, and a preoccupation with the canvas, as “essentially a flat surface covered with colours assembled in a certain order” (so said Maurice Denis). If I was to describe the style in my own words, it would be a painting without depth and perspective, so that the folds of a dress for example would be reduced to a single colour for the shadow and a single colour for the light, with no variation of tone demarking the shape or texture of the material.

Whether or not Felix Callotton, born in Switzerland in 1865, came to adopt the style as a result of the influence of his fellow Nabis is less certain. From the exhibition, it would appear as though Vallotton’s distinctive flattened panes flowed naturally from his brilliant virtuosity with woodcut printmaking. After all, the finish of woodcut will invariably involve the flattening of light and shadow, as the synthesis of two colours or tones – generally black and white – combine together to illustrate all of the details of an image – black for shadow and features; white for light. And having spent a good decade or so of his early career woodcutting for the sake of making money, the suppression of depth and shadow made its way seamlessly into Vallotton’s paintings which followed.

Vallotton’s brilliant woodcuts

Being recently enamoured with all things printmaking, it will not surprise the reader of this post to learn that I was struck first and foremost by these brilliant woodcuts, which are so full of detail and humour for so intricate and painstaking a medium. In Vallotton’s Intimacies series, he depicts the mundane and mediocre interiors of intimate home settings, but always his images are full of drama, whether it be because of his captivating use of shadow, or the sense of scandal and emotional anxiety which is suggested. From these prints, Vallotton went on to depict brilliantly the everyday street scenes of his Paris surroundings, doing so with whimsical detailing and a surprising attention to detail, and while Vallotton later abandoned woodcutting when the trade had left him sufficiently well furnished with money, his return to the medium to depict the First World War in his This is War! series in 1916 saw him create prints which were equally brilliant, despite the more serious tone of the subject matter.

As to Vallotton’s paintings, I adored the colourful products of his sythetism era, where the influence of his printmaking and the Nabis resulted in works where the subject matter become secondary to the overall pictorial patterning which was being created across the canvas. Just look at his painting of a theatre box for example (“Box seats at the theatre), a canvas which could quite possibly be a Rothko with its simple horizonal colour planes, and which only becomes more figurative thanks to the simple shapes denoting the two occupants of the box and that masterly glove with its single-coloured mauve shadow, suggesting an emotional dimension to the story being depicted.

Less impressive, sadly, were the works which Vallotton went on to create in his later career, as he abandoned synthetism and the Nabis, and sought to concentrate on depicting primarily the nude, and latterly huge mythological parodies which were more Disney than anything else. Thank goodness that at the end of his career, and at the end of this show, Vallotton chose to return to the medium of woodcut which, despite their depleted tonal palette and reduction of depth and realism, are perhaps the most captivating and visceral works of all.

All a bit “Disney”- Vallotton’s mythological parodies

Felix Vallotton: The Fire Under the Ice is on at the Grand Palais, Paris until 20th January 2014

Paris | Art tour 2013 – Braque (daily-norm.com)
Paris | Art tour 2013 – Kahlo and Rivera (daily-norm.com)
Vallotton at the Grand Palais: Another block-buster many of whose works are new (to me). (johntalbottsparis.typepad.com)

Dec 6

The Annunciation in Art

When I was recently looking through pictures of the annunciation in order to check that my own Norm depiction of the famous encounter between the angel Gabriel and Mary was correct, I noticed just how incredibly well represented the festival is in Christian art. From renaissance masters such as Fra Angelico and Botticelli to the interpretations of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, the image of Mary and the Angel Gabriel is as prominent a depiction in art history as the female nude. Such was the breadth of artistic output given over to the image, I felt compelled to share a few on The Daily Norm.

Despite the diversity of styles and compositional techniques used by the artists of these works, several strands remain common to them all. The Angel Gabriel is usually holding a white lily, said to represent Mary’s virginity, and a dove is very often present, representing the Holy Spirit and the conception which it at that moment engineers. The composition is also largely similar, with Mary on the right and Gabriel on the left, and in general the scene is played out on the outside of a house for example in a portico or garden.

For my Norm sketch, I tried to incorporate as many of these trends as possible, even playing on the trickery of perspective employed with such adeptness by Bottocelli and emulated in my old tiled floor. However I have placed my characters inside in a dusty Nazareth home. No grand renaissance porticos for me.

Fra Angelico (1438)

Fillippo Lippi (1443)

Attributed to Barthélemy d’Eyck (c.1443)

Carlo Crivelli (15th century)

Botticelli (1490)

Phillippe de Champaigne (1644)

Esteban Perez Murillo (1655)

George Hitchcock (1887)

John William Waterhouse (1914)

There’s something truly captivating about religious art, whatever your creed or belief, and despite not being a church goer myself, I find myself drawn to depictions of the Annunciation and the Nativity more than any other symbol of Christmas – just as for me old carols sung in monastery cloisters, and a visit to a candlelit carol concert of a cold winters evening are far more synonymous with Christmas than any tacky coca cola Christmas ad or the manic pre-Christmas shopping rush on Oxford street. I have therefore enjoyed the exercise of researching these paintings, transporting me as they do to the candlelit churches of Italy in December, where I was studying art history 12 years ago. I hope you enjoy them too.

The Norm Nativity | The Annunciation (daily-norm.com)

Dec 5

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The Norm Nativity | The Annunciation

In 2011, I brought you the Norm Christmas Carol. Last year we watched the developing tale of Normy and Normette’s turbulent relationship in the 12 Days of Normy Christmas. And this year I bring you, exclusive to The Daily Norm, The Norm Nativity! It’s a story which is known throughout the world, which fostered a global religion two millennia ago, and without which there would be no Christmas. But never before has the Nativity story, favourite of nursery schools throughout the land, been played out by the Norms. That is, until now.

It all began with the Annunciation. When, 9 months before Christmas day, the Angel Gabriel Norm visited Mary Norm and told her the startling news that she was to give birth to a son called Jesus Norm. Incredulous with disbelief (and having dropped the sponge in shock which only moments before she had been dutifully cleaning her dusty terracotta floor with), Mary could not understand how she, having not indulged in any such…err…action as could be said to lead naturally to the instigation of a pregnancy, was to have a baby. But at that moment a little dove flew through the air, and appeared almost to pierce her belly with life – some would have it that that very dove was the Holy Spirit incarnate.

Norm Nativity: The Annunciation (2013 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen and gold ink on paper)

And so it was that Mary Norm became pregnant with a little baby Norm who’s name she already knew. But an old writer known as Luke puts it much better than me:

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
For with God nothing shall be impossible.
And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:26-38

Nine months later and with a baby Norm well on its way, it was time for Mary Norm and her new husband Joseph Norm to register their forthcoming baby, and of course for Mary Norm to give birth. Find out what happened in the next instalment of the Norm Nativity… coming soon!

Dec 2

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Paris | Art tour 2013 – Braque

Lovers of 20th century art will all have heard of French-born artist Georges Braque. Of course I’ve heard of him too, renowned as he is for being co-founder of cubism along with the artist with whom he was thick and thieves in early 20th century Paris, Pablo Picasso. But my acquaintance with Braque has all too often occurred because, seeing a cubist masterpiece hanging in a modern art gallery, I have confused it with a Picasso, only to discover that the work was by Braque. It’s an easy mistake to make – the two artists were practically indecipherable from one another when they started out on the cubism road, a likeness of style which must be put down to the fact that they would discuss one another’s work endlessly day after day, night after night. And Braque was, purportedly, inspired into cubism by his glimpse of Picasso’s now world-famous Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, which few understood at the time, Braque being the exception.

So while Braque has, for me, existed solely in the shadows of the far glossier art historical existence of Picasso, I have never had the chance to discover how truly consistently brilliant he was as an artist. That is until this autumn, thanks to the latest blockbuster exhibition of Paris’ Grand Palais, which dedicates two floors of its palatial surrounds in retrospective homage to this French artistic great. I say consistently brilliant, because this show was one of those rare exhibitions where I literally loved almost every single piece, finding myself almost breathless with admiration as I strolled from painting to painting literally in love with what was on the walls before me.\

Early fauvism

The Port at La Ciotat (1907)

Landscape in L’Estaque (1906)

The show starts with early Braque, whereupon he dabbled largely in the fauvist epoque, with the result that his sunny landscapes of Southern France are imbued with scintillating bright colour which can not help but make the viewer yearn for the summer. But soon enough, after this initial embrace of colour, Braque discovers the more subdued shades of cubism, finding his own when fragmenting a scene into colourless, cubist dimensions. Seminal in cubism’s development was a chance visit to a wallpaper shop when Braque saw a reproduction wood-pattern paper in the window. Purchasing the wallpaper by impulse, it soon inspired Braque to set about creating a series of paper collages, which included, as well as the wallpaper, cardboard, newspaper cuttings – anything he could get his hands on. The effect of this geometric fragmentation was to create the cubist look, and soon enough Picasso was doing the same.

Into cubism, collage and then back to paint

Mandora (1909)

The Viaduct at L’Estaque (1908)

Little Harbour in Normandy (1909)

Still life with pipe (1913)

Still life on a table with Gillette (1914)

Violin and Pipe (Le Quotidien) (1913)

back to painting…. Still Life with Fruit and Ace of Clubs (1913)

After several years of collage experimentation, Braque returned to paint, but using the medium to create what were almost pastiches of the collage look – still fragmented, full of geometric shapes, but differing in their progressive return to the bolder colours of his fauvist age, a return which was no doubt eased along by the weakening of his relationship with Picasso, and his strengthening bond with spirited Spanish artist, Juan Gris.

The Table (1928)

The Round Table (1929)

The Duet (1937)

Studio II (1949)

Studio with Skull (1938)

Thus it was that as the 20s and 30s ticked by, Braque’s work moved the cubist spirit further and further, as the artist pushed the boundaries of the movement he had helped to create, until such a time as his works become progressively more figurative, but all the while maintaining the multi-dimensional expression which was central to cubism. Take his billiard table series for example – seen from various angles, Braque’s bold green billiard table is shown from all kinds of impossible angles, and yet there is no mistaking what Braque was trying to depict.

The Billiard Table (1945)

I would be selling the show short to suggest that it all ended there. From colour-drenched fauvism to colour-collected cubism, Braque’s mastery extended to every avenue of life, as he used his pioneering imagery to depict portraits, artist’s studios, landscapes, still life and even greek mythology. From room to room we see an artist who never failed to be inspired, and to inspire his countless followers in response. Never again will Georges Braque be in Picasso’s shadow as far as I am concerned, but level pegging as a genius of 20th century art.

Georges Braque is showing at the Grand Palais, Paris until 6 January 2014.

Nov 27

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Paris | Art tour 2013 – Kahlo and Rivera

I would like to start off my little Paris art series with a moan about London. For all the great events which take place in the city, its exhibitions tend to pale into insignificance when compared with Paris. Take the exhibitions that are on at the moment. At the Royal Academy, the grand galleries of the Burlington Palace are given over to an exhibition surveying the art history of Australia. Well we all know that Australia has no art history, and this exhibition demonstrates as much. Then there’s Tate Modern’s new retrospective on Paul Klee which presents room after room of samey small little Bauhaus explorations – and leaves the visitor as flat as the image so meticulously conceived by Klee on paper. And let us not forget the Royal Academy’s other homage to a nation’s art – its recent Mexico show, whose only inclusion of perhaps the greatest artist ever to come out of Mexico, Frida Kahlo, was a painting so small (and I mean ridiculously small) that you had to squint to see it.

Rivera’s cubist period

None of this in Paris, whose exhibitions present such a comprehensive survey of the particular artist at hand that you feel not only completely enriched at the end of the show, but also pretty exhausted too. And Paris doesn’t just have one blockbuster exhibition a year – no no, it holds a good three or four massive artistic events each season, hence why I feel the insuperable need to visit the city each year.

Really marking Paris out as the superior of its cross-channel neighbour this year is the Musée de l’Orangerie’s significant survey of the works of one Frida Kahlo, and her equally inspired artist husband, Diego Rivera. Entitled Art in Fusion, it explores what has to be one of the greatest married (and divorced, and then remarried) painterly partnerships of modern art history, with many of the most substantial of each artist’s oeuvres on exhibition, and not a tiny painting in sight.

The couple together

I have always adored the work of Frida Kahlo, resonating so easily with her emotionally raw artistic expression right from the time I first saw her work (ironically in London – those were the good days). For me, Kahlo’s paintings will always trump those of her hubbie’s, which are altogether more political for my taste. Either that or they are too superficial – such as paintings of children tying up lillies or portraits of Mexican natives. His works are altogether too easy to interpret at face value, while faced with a Kahlo masterpiece, you are kept guessing about all of the multi-layered complex meaning with which she imbues her works.

As ever, my favourite of her paintings are those which deal the most viscerally with her experiences of personal trauma – both the bus accident which crippled her for life, and the series of miscarriages which resulted, as well as her painful experience of Rivera’s relentless infidelity. This may make me morose, even morbid in my preferences, but then it was Frida’s works which first inspired me to commit my own life-changing accident to canvas.

Frida’s visceral pain-filled works

At the risk of being unfair to Rivera, of the canvases on show, a few stand out. I particularly enjoyed his cubist period when, as a young man, he found himself influenced by the early advent of this movement in 1900s Paris. However for the most part, it is Rivera’s murals which are his staggering life’s masterpieces, and sadly, despite some attempt at reproduction in the exhibition, these will require a trip to Mexico to be enjoyed to the full.

Rivera’s murals

That said, this show, which is a unique opportunity to see both the works of husband and wife displayed alongside each other, is an indisputably unmissable opportunity to see the artistic fusion which these two icons of Mexican art produced during their years together. And, being as it is in the Orangerie, if you find the vitality of colour and the depth of emotional expression a little too much to muster, there’s always Monet’s ultimately calming waterlillies to soothe you upstairs.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera | Art in Fusion is on at the Orangerie until 13 January 2013. If you want to avoid the vast queues which characterise all of the Paris exhibitions, I recommend buying tickets in advance.

VIDEO: Frida Kahlo ‘shunned by Mexico’s elite’ (bbc.co.uk)

Nov 21

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Announcing the details of my May 2014 solo art exhibition!

After some 6 years in the waiting since I last exhibited as a solo artist in London, I am delighted to announce that in May 2014, I will be holding the most comprehensive survey of my art ever. Concentrating on three distinct periods of my artistic output, all of which have been integral to my development as an artist since my last solo show, When (S)pain became the Norm will display paintings grouped to reflect those periods – Pain, Spain and Norms.

In Pain, I will exhibit the often traumatic but importantly cathartic set of paintings which I created during the protracted three years of recovery after the major road traffic accident in which I was involved in 2008. In Spain, I explore my works based on Spanish society, history and culture, themes which have been so significant in influencing the direction of my work over the last decade. And finally in becoming the Norm, I exhibit the works which I created upon the initiation of this very blog; the new paintings which saw me reintroduce the Norm as a prominent icon of my art.

This exciting exhibition, which will show over a hundred works ranging from large canvases to small Norm sketches will be hosted by the Strand Gallery, centrally located in John Adam Street just off the Strand in London’s Covent Garden. Bang next door to Charing Cross Station and a few hundred metres from Embankment tube station opposite the London Eye, I could barely wish for a more central gallery. And spread as it is across two floors, there should be plenty of space for my art to be shown at its very best.

The show will include…

Bricks and Stones May Break My Bones (The Show Must Go On) 2008 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, oil on canvas (130cm x 110cm)

¡Guerra! The Spanish Civil War (2009 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown)

Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe (after Manet) 2012 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, Oil on canvas

And so the details – well these initial save the date flyers (above) pretty much say it all, and whether you live in London, in England, or far across the globe, I would encourage you all to make London your priority destination from 12th – 18th May 2014 for what I hope will be the most significant exhibition of my life so far.

So there it is – my show is announced, and readers of The Daily Norm can expect to hear a lot more about it over the next 6 months as the show week approaches. In the meantime, please put the dates in your diary, and get yourself ready for the show of my life.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2013 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. 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

Daily Norm’s 2nd Anniversary/ 30th Birthday/ new website/ exhibition preview spectacular! (daily-norm.com)

Nov 18

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Daily Norm’s 2nd Anniversary/ 30th Birthday/ new website/ exhibition preview spectacular!

Christmas may be merely 5 weeks away, but its been all about a mighty great November for me. Not only have I been celebrating the relaunch of my official art website this month, but I have also been busy organising the first solo gallery showing of my artwork in 6 years, which will make its debut in London in the Spring of next year – more details will follow soon. Not only that, but I am still reeling from the shock of turning 30 earlier this year, but nevertheless still determined to celebrate it for as long as the year goes on. And finally, this month (and in fact the 14th November last week) marks the two year birthday of The Daily Norm!

From its very humble beginnings, this blog has now been freshly pressed 3 times, gained 2,332 followers, had 301,364 total views and even received 2,527 comments. And statistics aside, it has just been a joy from beginning to end – an outlet for my creativity; a mirror on my soul, and a magnificent far-reaching channel through which my thoughts and experiences can be shared with the world. So a huge thank you just has to go to everyone who has supported my blog all of this time. I feel incredibly honoured that you take the time to share just a little of my life with me.

My paintings on show at the Benugo Drawing Room private cocktail bar, last Friday

So how best to celebrate all of these marked feats of November jubilation? Why, to throw a private party of course! Yep, last Friday night, the best and beautiful of my inner circle – both friends and colleagues alike – gathered in their glad rags to belatedly celebrate my birthday, mark the relaunch of my website, reflect on the success of The Daily Norm, and look forward, in equal measure, to the prospect of my solo art exhibition next Spring. And in celebrating the latter aspect, what better way to anticipate what I hope will be the art show of the 2014 Spring season than to kick things off with a warm up preview of some of my latest works!

So for all those friends of mine rocking up at the British Film Institute’s secret cocktail bar within its main Benugo bar last friday evening, they were treated to an impromptu display of some 20 of my works, including a selection of my latest Compositions series, a few of my Norm originals including my Norm take on Manet’s Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe and Flamenco Norm, and also a few examples of my more contemplative works, such as Pink Bf, Return Journey and Pupillage.

The evening was a fantastic success, a wonderful opportunity for some of my latest colourful paintings and more subdued, delicate etchings to benefit from an outing to London’s cultural South Bank centre, and a fine way to touch base with my ever faithful friends, many of whom I have not seen for months, if not years. And I sold 3 more paintings to boot – which can’t be bad!

Sadly, as far as recording this magnificent event goes, I can only show you photos taken as the paintings went out, but before the people came in. No sooner had the first friend arrived than I was occupied talking to my guests all evening – and my well intentioned desire to record the evening through photos got quite lost in the revelry. But that is surely a sign of a good party.

Stay tuned, as ever, into The Daily Norm for exclusive details of my May 2014 art exhibition – coming soon!

And in the meantime another huge thanks to all those who have supported me and my blog for the two years of its happy existence. Here’s to the next!