Landscape | The Daily Norm

Sep 1

Interpretation No.20: The Albayzín from the Generalife, Granada

After 3 years of on and off painting, I have arrived at no. 20 of my Interpretation series, the gouache landscapes which concentrate on how human built and nature made landscapes interact, signified by simplified flat colour planes. Upon arrival in Granada, I knew I would have to paint a landscape. As cliché as it may be, how could I help but be inspired by the green and auburn rolling foothills of the Sierra Nevada over which the historical, magnificent city of Granada presides? From a first glimpse up at the Alhambra, sitting proudly on the uppermost hills of the city, it was pretty much decided in my head that there lay the protagonist of my Granada painting. That was until I got into the Alhambra itself.

From the gardens of the Generalife l was not only able to enjoy the most mystifying maze-like rose gardens straight out of Lewis Carroll, and fountains redolent of a thousand and one nights. I was also greeted by a view so beautiful that it stopped me in my step. The vista across the valley of the Darro river in Granada, looking over to the ancient Muslim quarter of the city, the Albayzín, arrested my senses. With its sprawl of mostly white little houses nestled in amongst church towers and cypress trees, all gracing a peaceful mountainous landscape, I knew that this was the one. Interpretation 20 was born. I hope you like it.

Interpretation No.20: The Albayzín from the Generalife, Granada (2016 ©Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache 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

Aug 29

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My Granada Sketchbook: Patio de Daraxa

Sometimes it can be pretty unnerving sketching in public, especially when to do so means being sat in the heart of a tourist location. Very quickly, the budding artist finds themselves being subsumed into the attraction itself, and becoming every bit the focus of the tourists´gaze. This is the position in which I found myself in the Alhambra when, desperate to sit down in a shady spot after hours of queuing and touring the mammoth complex of the Alhambra, the Alcazaba and the Nazrid Palace, we found a perfect little bench in the Patio de Daraxa, an idyllic little shady garden set at the very heart of the palace complex.

With a direct view onto the patio’s ancient fountain, its water sparkling in the light, and surrounded by the intricately trimmed box-tree hedges, fragrant orange and cypress trees, and agapanthus flowers dancing around in a gentle breeze, I knew that I had to capture the essence of this space in my sketchbook. So reaching more my pen, I started nervously mapping out the space, hoping to do homage to the perfect symmetry which the Moorish inhabitants had executed with such precision. However no sooner had I placed pen to paper, than tourists, without any kind of timid apology, started peering onto the page, beckoning their friends closer, taking my photo and waiting stubbornly for the completion of the piece. That never happened. After only a basic sketch I retired from the spot, unable to bare the intensity of the tourists´gaze any longer.

Patio de Daraxa, Alhambra (2016 ©Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

This sketch was finished over coffee in one of my favourite haunts in Marbella. Despite that, I believe it still captures the magical spirit of that perfect Alhambra resting place.

© 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

Aug 4

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Inspired by my surroundings: Paseo Mallorca 2

I am on a mission. To capture the beauty that is all around me. Sometimes it feels like an impossible task… the ever changing light and the relentless choice of angles makes my head spin. I feel like Monet rushing between canvases trying to capture haystacks at different times of the day. Yet I plough on, aiming to capture (in however many canvases it takes) the essence of my Palma neighbourhood: the Paseo Mallorca

My second effort in this regard is a painting of the bridge which crosses from Jaume III, Palma’s principle shopping street, stretching over to Santa Catalina, the cool kids left bank-styled area of town. The bridge itself is fairly decorative, albeit that it is somewhat simplified in this interpretation. But what struck me more than the bridge was the sweeping great curve of the white block of flats which sits at the centre of this view. Never a major fan of mass construction, especially in these kind of Mediterranean landscapes, for me there is a real space-age elegance about these 70s style blocks, glowing in the sun against the unchangeably blue skies, especially when contrasted with the soft edges of the many trees below.

Paseo Mallorca 2 (2016 ©Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, acrylic on canvas)

© 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

Feb 9

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Mallorquín Spring Lamb, enjoyed two ways

It may be premature to announce that Spring has arrived on the island of Mallorca, but having been blessed by almost continuous blue skies pretty much since the summer, it’s sometimes hard to say what season we are in. The only thing I know is that since the new year dawned, and we returned from the chilly climes of Vienna, it has surely felt like Spring is here. And with the arrival of Spring comes a cast of the usual protagonists – blossoming trees, warmer wafts of perfumed air, and the innocent bleating of fluffy little lambs.

We came face to face with those beautiful little animals on a recent walk through Mallorca’s Tramontana mountains. Heading along one of the island’s worst-surfaced zig-zagging rollercoaster of a roads up one of Mallorca’s highest mountains to the vast valley nestling in the mighty shadow of the ruined Alaró Castle, we had a lunch date at the iconic Es Verger restaurant.

Recently made famous, to UK audiences at least, by its short starring role in one of chef Rick Stein’s televised adventures through the Mediterranean, Es Verger is an unbelievably quaint traipse back through time to the truly bucolic routes of peasant Mallorca, where everything on the limited menu borrows from the immediate rugged environment, and is cooked by a charming old lady using recipes passed down throughout the centuries. The star dish is Mallorquín lamb, the very same animal which only metres from the secluded restaurant you could see bleeding innocently in the rays of a newly sprung-sunshine (see attached photos above for heart-warming snapshots).

But any guilt which we could quite easily have felt for seeing these sweet animals and then eating the same was quickly dispelled by the sheer exquisite deliciousness of this incredible dish. Cooked in beer and infused by the juices of a variety of vegetables roasted over long hours in a smokey log fire, the meat both melted over the tongue, and was deliciously caramelised at the edges. Never have I enjoyed meat so much, nor indeed a meal. Pure, simple, and finished off by a cremadillo – a flaming mix of local hierbas liquor, rum, coffee and all sorts of other liquid indulgences.

Needing to walk off the alcohol and indulge a little more in the staggering scenery which surrounded us, we headed after lunch to the ruined castle of Alaró, an incredible historical site sat atop the mountain which, while looking deceptively close, required a good hour’s uphill climb along one of Mallorca’s craggier paths. But with views from the top spreading across the bay of Palma on one side and across to Puig Mayor, the island’s highest mountain on the other, we were awfully glad for the scenery, that amazing lunch and the Spring in our step it had given us.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2016 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.

Jan 18

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Interpretation No. 19: Venice, the Dorsoduro from above

It’s hard to believe that my series of landscape interpretations are now entering their third year. Started back in Positano on the Amalfi Coast when I was inspired by the cubic contrast of urban development against rugged natural scenery, the collection has morphed and developed, now reaching its 19th in number. While traditional landscape painting seems to be too often looked down on by the so called “experts” in today’s contemporary art world, these simplified landscapes allow me the opportunity to relive a landscape, to simplify it into the basic forms which make the view so beautiful, and most importantly to relax and enjoy the process of creation.

As my little Venice seasons comes to an end here on The Daily Norm, and we travel together, to cities further afield, there could have been no more appropriate final curtain to the collection than to share this, my latest in the interpretations series. Inspired by the stunning views over the city which I photographed from the top of St Mark’s campanile and shared on The Daily Norm last week, this view for me was compositionally just too tempting not to paint.

Interpretation No. 19: Venice, the Dorsoduro from above (2016 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

With its waves of terracotta rooftops covering Venetian red, cream and ochre buildings, all leading to the magnificence of the church of Santa Maria della Salute at its centre, and with its intersection of creamy turquoise canals and a view of the Giudecca island in the foggy distance, this is a view of the Dorsoduro region at its best. And it makes for a fine addition to the urban wing (Paris, London & Palma and counting…) of my continuing collection gouache landscapes.

© 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 18

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Interpretation No. 18: London

I suppose it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. It took my departure from London after 12 years of living there to recognise that the city, while not consistently beautiful, still has a certain amount of inspirational magic to it. When I lived there I would always profess the need to travel to the Mediterranean and beyond in order to find artistic inspiration. When asked whether I ever painted London, I looked at people as though they were mad: paint this city? But it’s just a pool of grey, I would say.

Yet when I visited the city afresh at the beginning of last week, and sat in the glass fronted restaurant on the 6th floor of Tate Modern on Bankside, I could not help but stare in wonderment at the beauty of the cityscape before me, as I realised that London is much more than 50 shades of grey. Indeed, with the greeny shades of the River Thames, the plethora of glass skyscrapers and old baroque and gothic churches and the terracotta hues of many of the brick buildings, London is a metropolis full of contrasting colours.

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

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. It’s a cliché but it’s true. And as soon as I returned from the city, I started work on this latest of my Interpretations series. A simplified but devoted landscape of a city which is beautiful after all.

© 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

Nov 23

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Yet more praise for Mallorca’s awe-inspiring autumn

Now before your eyes roll upwards as you cast an initial glimpse over yet another post dedicated to Mallorca’s autumn, allow me to excuse my inexhaustible passion for the season as it exists on this island. For coming from England, autumn is an altogether damper affair, and while there are moments when the sun shines and the colours of the trees shine through, by that time, most of the leaves are already sludge on the pavement after the preceding days of rain; and then of course there are the howling winds which have pushed them there.

Here in Mallorca, autumn is a very different story. I’ve often seen pictures of the perfect autumn images – trees totally transformed into shades of orange and red, glowing like fire under a crisp blue sky. But I had never experienced such an idealised season before I came to Mallorca. And here, you benefit not just from the beauty which results from consecutive days of sunshine, but also the little quaint villages whose ochre stone walls and green shutters work alongside the autumn shades as though they had been meticulously selected for the purpose..

This union of natural and manmade autumnal magic was no more obvious than on a recent visit to the stunning little village of Valldemossa; a mountainous retreat whose cluster of houses in a deep mountain valley has become the very picture-postcard image of Mallorca. And with good reason, for it’s one of those villages which is utterly quaint at every turn, and at every time of the year… no more so than in autumn, surely my most beloved season in Mallorca.

Nov 19

The real inhabitants of Formentor

The Cap de Formentor – surely nature at its most dazzling; a mountainous peninsular which forms the crowning glory of Mallorca’s tramuntana mountain range, and its Northern most point. And while thousands of thrill-hunting tourists hit the winding roads of this most stunning of landscapes each year, it’s the mountain goats who can truly lay claim to this unique stretch of paradise.

With their incredible sense of balance and tendency to traverse the steepest of cliffs and the most hazardous rocky terrains, the goats which live wild within Mallorca’s mountainous landscape never fail to impress me; that is at least when I manage to catch a glimpse of them. For these wild animals are notoriously shy; one blink and they’re gone. But with a bit of luck and some respectful distance, you can catch a sight of these beautiful animals offset against what must surely be some of the most incredible landscapes in Europe.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2015 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.

Nov 16

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Interpretation No. 17 – Autumn Light, La Rambla

La Rambla, in the heart of Palma de Mallorca, is without a doubt one of my favourite streets in the city. Stretching from the Plaza Mayor all the way to the main Avenidas ring road, and crowned with a discreet but elegant fountain towards its end, La Rambla is, like its Barcelona counterpart, a true artery of the city. Lined with huge trees which tower up to the sky and lean inwards forming a natural canopy, the leafy “ceiling” of this road reminds me of the nave of a cathedral. Meanwhile down at ground level, the street is filled with flower stalls which turn this very green passage into a veritable feast of colour every day.

But of all the times of the year, La Rambla is for me most beautiful in the autumn, when its blanket of leaves turns a golden honey green, and the soft light of the season shines through it like a stained glass window. Thus inspired, I returned to my Interpretations series, painting this simplified landscape of La Rambla when I love it best… first thing in the morning, seen on my way to work, with the autumn sun just ascending and long shadows spilling out across the road.

Interpretation No. 17 - Autumn light on La Rambla (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache 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. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacybrown.com

Nov 14

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The Largest Tree in Palma de Mallorca

Despite the inherent disruptions entailed by a house move such as ours, it brings with it its new routines, and I love nothing more than the excitement of getting used to a new way of life. And for us, our new area brings an exposure to Palma’s best cafe culture, views of its beautiful leafy river, and a new daily walk to work which takes me through some of the old town’s most charming streets and across its beautiful tree-lined avenues.

But for me, the most beautiful feature of my daily commute is my route past what must be the largest tree in all of Palma de Mallorca. Sitting in the walled gardens alongside the magnificent building of the Consell of Mallorca, this tree is beyond human or even natural dimensions. Its trunk must be at least 4 metres in diameter, and its sprawling roots could themselves be benches facilitating a cosy spot in the shade. Meanwhile its vast branches create a leafy canopy which must be over 100 metres across, and thus it fills the entirety of the square it rests in.

Its those beautiful branches which take centre stage in this photographic post – a true natural gem in the heart of urbanised Palma.