Drawing | The Daily Norm

Jan 6

My travel sketchbook: Canal View, Venice

It seems like a longtime has passed since the halcyon days of summer were upon us, and indeed it was. For the entire season of autumn has passed since then, and the leaves of the summer’s luscious green branches have all but fallen. And yet that was the last time I opened my travel sketchbook, at least until Venice came.

For Venice is a renowned artist’s paradise, a utopia whose every turn and corner provides a sensational new detail to inspire a creator’s hand. My trip this Christmas past was sadly short (but sweet), and neither the duration nor the temperatures allowed for me to spend much time sitting in one of the city’s many stunning squares or canal sides sketching all of the beauty which was before me. But there was time enough to capture this view, especially since it was the vista we were lucky enough to enjoy from our hotel bedroom. And thus while we rested from the day’s adventures, I sketched. And this is the result.

Canal view, Venice (2015 ©Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2016. 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. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacybrown.com

Dec 27

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2015: Looking back at my year’s work

Each year I grow more and more frustrated that time seems to pass so quickly with so very little artwork done. I suppose its only natural for an artist, when new ideas and burning creativity consumes from within desperate to find its manifestation on canvas, or paper. And as the years go on, and time seems to be ticking closer towards the great unknown, that frustration only grows deeper.

And yet, as I look back upon the last year’s work, I cannot say that the year was unproductive. On the contrary, a glimpse over my creative output demonstrates a fair breadth of artistic endeavours, and shows that besides the obvious application of time spent enjoying the incredible Mediterranean surroundings in which I am now living, I also applied myself to expressing those visions in a concrete illustrated form.

Interpretations

Chief among my works for 2015 have been gouaches painted on paper. Perfect for their ease of use and the speed of their execution, I painted more gouache than any other paintings because they gave me moments of relaxation in between the pressures of work, and enabled me to quickly express my reaction to a new landscape or experience without lingering for months on a forever unfinished canvas.

Interpretation No. 13 – Ibiza (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Interpretation No. 14 , Deia (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Interpretation No. 15 – Malaga (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Interpretation No. 16: From La Rive Gauche (2015, © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Interpretation No. 17 – Autumn light on La Rambla (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Interpretation No.18: London (2015, Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ocho Balcones

Asides from adding new interpreted landscapes to my Interpretations collection, I also created a new collection of portrait-format gouaches painted of the eight views enjoyed from the eight balconies of our Palma old town apartment. And it’s a good job I did, for no sooner had the collection been completed, we moved out!

Ocho Balcones (No.1): From the bedroom

Ocho Balcones No. 2: Cables in the Calle (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ocho Balcones No. 3: KItchen Contrast (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ocho Balcones No.4: The Longest View (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ocho Balcones, No.5: The Summer Bathroom (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ocho Balcones No.6: Angled Perspective (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ocho Balcones No. 7: Dominik’s Office (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ocho Balcones VIII: The Artist’s Studio (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

The Honeymoon Suite

Of course my wedding and the honeymoon which followed were not only the central point of the year, but provided their own inspiration, not least at La Colombe d’Or hotel, where we were lucky enough to dine surrounded by original works by the likes of Leger, Braque and Picasso, and sunbathe under the wings of an Alexander Calder mobile. With only my small box of gouaches with me, I set about painting each of the rooms of the three hotels we stayed in, as well as the stunning leafy garden of the Colombe.

Honeymoon Suite I: Bedroom at La Colombe d’Or (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

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

The Honeymoon Suite 3: Bedroom at the Arai Barcelona

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

Commissions

It was also a good year for Commissions, and apart from the wide variety of works created for my employer, a few outside commissions also enabled me to paint these works which made it into the press across Mallorca and beyond.

Antiguedades (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Autumn in Paris (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ovejas en Orient (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

My travel sketchbook

Taking a break from all the colour, 2015 was also a bumper year for my travel sketchbook. Started the year before, it is now almost full to the bursting with sketches completed this year including landscapes from across Mallorca, the French Riviera, Ibiza and Marbella.

: Ibiza Town (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: The Tramuntana viewed from Fornalutx (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: The beach at Banyalbufar (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen and ink on paper)

: Orient Olive Tree (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Palma Cathedral from the Parc de la Mar (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Resting on La Rambla (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Cafe Corner, Biniaraix (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

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

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

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

: Cafe at the Calatrava Hotel (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Looking towards the Calatrava Hotel, Palma (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

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

: Parque de la Constitucion (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Malaga Cathedral, detail (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Plaza de la Victoria, Marbella (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Plaza de Santo Cristo, Marbella (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: La Concha, Marbella (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

The Oil Paintings

And finally to what, perhaps, I do best – the mighty projects on canvas; oil paintings each of which take weeks if not months to complete, but whose realisation is all the more fulfilling because of the time spent. I painted very few completed works on canvas this year, but those which reached the finish line were mainly Mallorca based landscapes, my ultimate challenge being the 1.5m landscape of the Bay of Palma. A true achievement for the year 2015.

Orient (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, oil on canvas)

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

An Englishman in Andalucia (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, oil on canvas)

The Bay of Palma (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

And now, as I look forwards, with three large paintings already on the go, and a whole new sketchbook ready to be filled, I cannot wait to see what the next year of creativity will bring.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacybrown.com

Dec 21

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Art in London (Part 3): Giacometti Pure Presence

Say Alberto Giacometti to most art enthusiasts, and for the majority, an image of his long, spindly totem-pole like human sculptures will come to mind. For it is these famous works which made Giacometti’s name, and which today reach eye-wateringly high prices at auction. But for me, the true genius of this artist was not in his sculptures at all, but in his frenetic, impulsive two-dimensional works.

I first discovered the drawings of Giacometti when I attended a short course in life drawing at the Chelsea College of Art. The teacher was trying to ally the many frustrations spreading amongst the students in the room by the changing positions of the models both during the life drawing session, and after breaks. Yet as he attempted to show us through Giacometti’s work, a portrait does not have to comprise a single well-defined line, but can emerge from a series of lines and positions.

The portraits he showed us by way of example were by Giacometti, and in drawing his sitters, he did not concern himself with the perfect line of the face or body, but instead through a series of energetic lines, he would draw a fragmented impression of the sitter, building up the lines more and more until he got to the face, where the real details were introduced. The result was a drawing which focused so intently on the face that it appeared to be emerging from the paper.

So I was filled with excitement to discover that this autumn, the National Portrait Gallery in London are exhibiting a retrospective focusing on Giacometti’s many portraits. And while the show does this through some of the sculptures which made him famous, it is Giacometti’s two dimensional works on paper and on canvas which turned out to be as thrilling as I had anticipated.

Like drawings and paintings created from wire, or built up through a passionate and continued interaction between pencil (or paintbrush) and paper, Giacometti’s portraits are utterly unique, and, after what appears to be a process of interrogation and exploration of the flesh, result in vivid portraiture full of emotional depth. But while the Goya exhibition at the National Gallery next door tended to bring to life the story of each of Goya’s sitters, in Giacometti’s works, I could sense the passion and intention of the artist himself.

Giacometti: Pure Presence runs at The National Portrait Gallery until 10 January 2016.

Nov 10

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Interpretation No. 16 – From La Rive Gauche, Paris

Although this week will mark a year’s anniversary since we moved from London to the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, I am invariably a creature of habit, and while I surround myself daily by some of the most beautiful views Europe has to offer, there are still some things I miss about my former London life. Prince among them, ironically, is not a London experience at all, but our annual trip, taking what I always consider to be a glamorous sub-Channel rail journey from London St Pancras to L’Estacion Gare du Nord, to visit my favourite amongst cities, Paris. And as that annual trip always happened around about now, I cannot hide my internal pining for the French city of lights.

So in my efforts to satisfy something of my longings, I have somewhat franco-fied my home life of late. On my ipod, the hauntingly beautiful songs of old 20s French cabaret play; on the TV, film favourites such as La Vie en Rose are on continuous repeat, and moving from my paintbrush, this very Parisian scene emerged – a gouache painting which becomes the newest in my simplified interpretations landscape series.

Interpretation No. 16: From La Rive Gauche (2015, © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

With its simplified colour palette of turquoise, ochre and grey, it reflects the memory of a similar such scene encountered just as we were crossing from the left bank on our last trip to Paris. I remember that the day had been pretty grey, but about the time the sun set, the clouds dispersed and left the sky a creamy golden yellow. This in turn reflected on the water, turning the grey River Seine a beautiful shade of turquoise which then glowed, almost unnaturally, against the greys and beiges of the surrounding city architecture.

It feels good to have Paris back in my life again… even if it is just on paper.

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

Nov 6

Norms in the Caves of Drach

Legend has it that the Norms have lived on the earth for many millions of years, although over that time, it is thought that their bean-like gelatinous form has gradually morphed and evolved. In fact some allege that these famous white blobs once started off as a mere circular structure, although the biological reasoning behind this theory is heavily disputed.

Nonetheless, there is nothing that Norms like to do more (well apart from sip on a steaming cup of hot white chocolate perhaps) than reconnecting with their heritage, and owing to their tremendously long history, this connection can be no better realised than in a good set of caves, themselves the products of millions of years slow limestone dripping.

Norms in the Caves of Drach (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen and ink on paper)

It is no wonder then that on a recent trip to the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, the Norms were to be found happily visiting the famous Cuevas of Drach; gazing up in wonder at the multiple surreal forms created by the stalactites, and floating, awestruck, across the crystal clear lake, gazing at their milky reflection while a boat full of Norm musicians serenaded them across the water.

You could say they took to it like a Norm to water…,

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

Oct 7

My Mallorca Sketchbook: Café at the Calatrava Hotel

In today’s Daily Norm post I continue sharing some of the pages of my flourishing sketchbook, and this time it’s a double whammy. Both were sketched during the balmy days of summer from the same table outside the Calatrava Boutique hotel in Palma de Mallorca. It’s one of my all time favourite spots in Palma… Alongside the sea but exhibiting none of the exhausting heat of the beach thanks to the shade provided by huge twisting ancient trees. Plus it’s just outside the main tourist thoroughfare of Palma meaning that tranquility really can be enjoyed here, in the middle of one of the Mediterranean’s busiest cities.

Cafe at the Calatrava Hotel (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

These sketches capture two aspects of this leafy patio in front of the suitably lavish boutique hotel – both looking beyond the cafe towards the incredible row of knotty trees, and then back towards the buildings of, and adjoining the hotel… glorious because of the intricate lattice work of their windows and the delicately ageing facades.

Looking towards the Calatrava Hotel, Palma (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

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

Oct 5

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Ocho Balcones (No. 7): Dominik’s Office

After a week’s break, it’s back to business as usual this week as I share the penultimate balcony from my new Ocho Balcones collection of gouaches, all of which feature one of the eight different views we enjoy from our old town apartment here in Palma de Mallorca.

This week, I feature the exclusive little office space which my partner Dominik occupied with such enthusiasm from the first days of our time in this apartment, filling this classic study space with his many books, a fancy glass desk, a whole host of my norm sketches, and best of all… a balcony full of cacti of every different shape and size. And in wanting to focus in on this verdant feature of the balcony, I used a small dose of artistic license to tone down the colours of the street outside in order to create a more uniform sepia backdrop, allowing the green of the cacti to pop.

But while the cacti may be the protagonists of this piece, Dominik’s simple desk lamp tends to take on its own staring role, its angular black structure contrasting perfectly with the curving wrought iron balconies and horizontal stripes of the electricity cables outside in the street.

7 down and 1 to go. The Ocho Balcones collection is nearing its close. See you soon, for the final instalment.

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

Sep 30

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Norms in the Embarcadero of S’Estaca

It’s been many months since the Norms last featured on this blog, which is somewhat incongruous for a blog where these little one-armed white blobs are the protagonists. Yes everyone needs a holiday, and while for me that meant a rest from my Norm drawing board, for the Norms themselves it was a busier time… word has it they’ve been locked away in the Normaboratory engaged in top-secret scientific research about the luminosity of the outer Norm-mebrane. And although they’re keeping characteristically silent about the results of their work, they have at least come out to play. And happily for me, the Norms’ new playground is the island of Mallorca, where I found them only the other day at the incredible Embarcadero of S’Estaca.

This stunning little setting, nestled in the rippling folds of the Tramuntana mountains as they plunge down to sea, was featured on this very blog only a few weeks back, and must have been noted by the Norms. For mere weeks later they can be found lounging in the very same place, bobbing around in the still waters amongst mysterious rock forms, preparing to dive, fish, and take the sun a little… All in the aid of scientific research of course.

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

Sep 23

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My travel sketchbook: La Concha, Marbella

This week I’m sharing the last of my sketches completed while I was in Marbella last month. It’s funny how, with the passage of the seasons and the onset of autumn, that blissful fortnight in the middle of the summer now seems so far removed from reality. And yet when I reopen my sketchbook, the familiar smell of the cream pages wafting delicately towards my face, those balmy days of summer are never far away. And as I look at this last sketch, I remember the final rush to finish just one more drawing before our holiday came to an end.

It features La Concha, the mighty mountain which stands at 1243 metres above the town of Marbella and which has consequently become emblematic of the cityscape, and of this stretch of the Sierra Blanca mountain range in Andalucia. In all my years holidaying at my family home in Marbella, I have never stopped admiring this mighty giant, with its rippled folds and satisfying slopes. Providing the backdrop to so many of the town’s best views, Marbella would surely be half the place without it.

La Concha, Marbella (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

In this sketch I draw a mere slice, so that I could concentrate on some of those complex and fascinating undulations. It marked an appropriate end to this year’s happy reacquaintance with Marbella.

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

Sep 16

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My travel sketchbook: Plaza de Santo Cristo, Marbella

Of the many pages now full of pen-drawings in my sketchbook, a hefty percentage show Mediterranean city squares, usually with a fountain in the middle. Last week I featured my sketch of the Plaza de la Victoria in Marbella, and this week continues the trend with the Plaza de Santo Cristo, which can be found a mere 5 minute stroll away in the same pretty Casco Antiguo (old town) of Marbella. Why I have such an obsession with sketching these squares remains ever clear to me. In the streets you discover a quaint atmosphere, but in these little cobbled plazas, you find all that and more – the trickle of water from a central fountain, the grandeur of bigger buildings reserved for these show-piece plazas, and a panoply of plants and flowers giving shade to the locals who gather there.

All of these features can be found in the Plaza de Santo Cristo, which features one of Marbella’s most iconic little churches, a flamenco club, mountain view, and of course a fountain at its centre. But perhaps what I love most of all in the square is the relationship between the long bendy palms set against the typically Andalucian white-washed walls of the church. Magnificent.

Plaza de Santo Cristo, Marbella (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

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