Harbour | The Daily Norm

Jul 23

My Travel Sketchbook: Chania Harbour

It’s been a long time since I took out travel sketchbook. Not since Aix-en-Provence have I set pen to paper, and yet I suppose there’s plenty of argument for London being sufficient source of sketching inspiration. Sadly, this life of ours does not provide time for everything, but our Cretan Odyssey was one such occasion which felt apt for a little sketching. So to Crete we return (after our brief sojourn in Sussex) and onto the pages of my sketchbook which had turned their sights in the direction of Chania’s stunning little Venetian harbour.

When we first arrived out our hotel in Chania, and stepped onto the balcony, light met our eyes with a dazzling intensity as the Grecian sunshine reflected off the cerulean sea and onto the glimmering whites and creams of the painted harbourside buildings. As an artist, spoilt for choice was to put it mildly. I could have painted and sketched and taken inspiration from 50 or so details of the awe-inspiring views set out before us. But sadly, time was short. With only 4 days to enjoy the vistas, I set about painting the view looking East in the evenings, when the sun from the West illuminated the mosque and the surrounding buildings, and in the mornings, I would turn Westwards, to this beautiful view of the harbour curving its way around the sea, like a mother’s embrace of the ocean – her favourite child.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2018. 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 artwork of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, visit http://www.delacybrown.com

Jul 5

1 Comment

Terracotta Collective: Chania Harbour

Those eagle-eyed amongst you might have noticed a painting in progress hidden in amongst the photos paying homage to Crete in Tuesday’s post. Perched on a little travel easel on the balcony of our hotel in Chania, a canvas, quickly filled with the sun-soaked colours and gently bouncing water which filled our view. So lucky we were to enjoy such an extensive and exclusive platform from which to enjoy Chania’s harbour at all times. It would have been a travesty not to have painted it.

So the very same afternoon I set about erecting my easel and filling my bite-sized canvas. I started with the background – a broad, roughly applied swathe of terracotta, colour of the rich soil which underpins the geography of Greece. Next, the sea and the sky, roughly applied with ultra marine, brush stroke daubings still visible across both. Then came the houses and the mosque which characterise the view – that pink blancmange dome and the gently crumbling whitewash of nearby houses. I tried to capture something of the delicate, transient beauty of the place, with roughly applied dappled paints and terracotta roofs allowing that original tone to shine through from the base of the canvas.

This is the first painting in my new Terracotta Collective. Painted on a terracotta background whose rich earthy colour is allowed to shine through amongst surface brush strokes of differing thickness, it is a collection which references the rich ground which underpins the life and vivacity of the wider Mediterranean.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2018. 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 artwork of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, visit http://www.delacybrown.com

May 29

Dubrovnik | Photography Focus: Part One – Lovrijenac Fort

There can be no doubt that the historically intact magnificent city of Dubrovnik oozes magic and magnificence from every corner and street, in its main grand piazzas and in the shadows of its imposing encircling walls, before its various churches and cathedrals, and from whichever viewpoint the city is admired. And yet for all the magic of mankind’s creation, it is the creation of nature, surrounding the city, which enchants me the most. Not only is Dubrovnik built upon an island cast from vast rocky forms which plunge out to see unabashed by the forces of the Adriatic, but besides the main city, a number of smaller rock forms create little bays and natural harbours which are loaded with a special unique mysticism which make them feel almost otherworldly.

Chief amongst these is the area of the Lovrijenac fortress. Set upon another vast rock and surrounded by a tranquil little bay (Brsalje Harbour) punctuated with its own collection of smaller little rock forms, Lobrijenac felt like a castle straight out of a fairytale. The rocks leading to it were crisscrossed with little steps, and the steep sided rock faces peppered with nature’s best display of yellow and purple wild flowers, mosses and cacti. Meanwhile in the waters below, the proliferation of rocks on the seabed meant that the water under Dubrovnik’s blue skies glowed a ravishing tone of turquoise, while the shape of the rocks themselves looked almost like wild mystical animals, refreshing themselves in the shallow waters.

Perhaps it was the combination of these magical natural forms and the fading afternoon light when we visited which made this place extra specially supernatural when we visited on our first day in Dubrovnik; it may also have been my artistic imagination which gave the place such significance. After all, only recently I completed my large scale painting, Autorretrato, which was set in a fantastical bay containing random rock forms just like these, an image which I had then carried through to two of my etchings. Whatever the reason though, I found this area just outside Dubrovnik’s walls to be completely stunning, hence why I’m giving it a whole post of its own in amongst my new season of posts from the city.

For all its tranquillity and light, its mystical rocky forms and sparkling sensuous watery ripples, the Brsalje Harbour is definitely one of my favourite of all places in Dubrovnik, but ultimately there are so many more which warranted my artistic and photographic attentions. So be sure to come back soon to The Daily Norm so see what else the Pearl of the Adriatic had to offer.

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.