Mallorca | The Daily Norm

Nov 3

Norms Palma Series: Paseo Mallorca

I find it awfully coincidental just how much the Norms and I have in common. They adore lounging around in galleries, and sipping coffees in a city’s best cafes. They love to be beside the seaside and they adore rivers and greenery too. And so it is no surprise to me that the Norms, likewise, adore the area of Paseo Mallorca, the green spine of Palma where a river runs out to the sea and where cypress trees and palms grow gracefully besides the water and elegant residential blocks. After all, it is a place which has inspired me a good number of times, and no doubt inspires these green loving creatures too.

Here we see the Norms enjoying the leafy surroundings of the Paseo Mallorca, where a stroll along the broad avenues adjacent to the river is every bit as chic as a walk along the paths of the Bois de Boulogne or a perambulation alongside the River Seine. Little norms, old norms, doggie norms, even homeless norms…all of them enjoy hanging out in this recreational idyll. I can even see two who look suspiciously like my partner and me heading off together to work, a backpack loaded for the day and a must-have camera in hand. Must be that coincidental similarity again…

© 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

Oct 31

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A Portrait of Mallorca

Sometimes I just want to paint what’s on my mind. The energetic fusion of ideas applied to canvas in a mixed and multifarious revolution of form and colour. But unlike the Expressionist movement, which tended to splash and splosh their emotion onto canvas in more of a literal application of paint, my variety of expressionism materialises in more of a controlled fashion. I suppose it says something about my rather controlling mind (a tendency for which my partner may testify). For my wildest form of expression is something more cubist in nature. I have always been enchanted by the age of the cubists. The ability to show an object or a subject on multidimensional planes has always filled me with an ultimate sense of pictorial satisfaction. And while my cubism is less a single subject and rather more a mixed bag of ideas, it definitely belongs to the genre.

Portrait of Mallorca (2016 ©Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, acrylic on canvas)

This cubist work, which also belongs to my interpretative abstract way of thinking, is the latest canvas to hop off my easel and says everything and anything about the island on which I have spent the last two happy years of my life. It is for me a true portrait of Mallorca, because beyond the tacky tourism for which the island is so unfortunately infamous, the island is one of true bucolic peasant culture, with its own cuisine and characterised by a stunning mixed mountainous and coastal landscape. All this is represented in the imagery packed into this “portrait” which includes the spiralled ensaimada pastry for which the island is famous, the lacey headdress and straw hat worn by the traditional peasant women, as well as their flowing striped skirts flapping in the Mediterranean breeze. There too are the mountains and the beaches, the glittering coast and the yachts which encircle the island like moths around a light source. And of course the sails of the windmills, which likewise characterise the lower lying stretches of countryside.

It is a painting which fully encapsulates the multifaceted personality of an island which is much, much more than Magaluf.

© 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

Oct 25

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Mallorca Moments: Autumn Skies

There are many who bemoan the onset of autumn, especially those who miss the balmy long light days of summer. But while the summer may provide days of endless sunshine, in the Mediterranean, their clear blue skies are repetitive, no matter how beautiful. Come autumn however, and within the array of the season is a blockbuster of show-stopping sky spectacles. Whether it be by sunrise or sunset, the interplay between cloud and sunlight makes for the most incredible harmonious duet, casting the skies with a panoply of vividly rich colours, from primrose yellow through to a deep blood-rose red.

The photos on today’s Daily Norm post are just a few of those I have snapped when I have been lucky enough to capture the light of the sun here in Palma, both at the beginning and at the end of the day. For as any photographer will know, these light effects are brief and ephemeral… and more often than not, I have a camera nowhere near me when the very best skies are on show. And how I kick myself at that moment. But with this set, I have at least captured some of the rich tones of the Autumn skies. And as the season has only really just begun, I cannot wait to see more.

© 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 http://www.delacybrown.com

Oct 19

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Norms Palma Series: Santa Eulalia

Palma de Mallorca is full of plazas and piazzas whose leafy trees provide welcome respite from the heat of the summer and an autumnal auburn glow thereafter. Whatever the time of the year, they are always full, as the Norms bounce their way through on an evening perambulation or enjoy a glass of their favourite cocktail, amaretto sour.

Here are the Norms in one of their favourite Palmanese Squares, the Plaza Santa Eulalia. Named after the great gothic church which sits at its centre, the Plaza is a grand square indeed and the perfect spot to indulge in the Norm-watching activity which fills the Norms’ two wide eyes with enough action to thrill them for the day.

Norms on the Plaza Eulalia (2016 ©Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen and ink 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

Oct 17

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Discovering Mallorca: Botanical Soller

Were I forced to choose between a beach and a garden, I would take a garden any day. For as enticing as the charms of a beach may be, it is the dappled shady paradise created by a sunny, richly planted garden which for me represents earth’s most sublime elysium. While the island of Mallorca may be famous for its beaches, the proportion of gardens is far lower. Having paid a visit to pretty much all of those beautiful gardens which do exist, amongst them the lush Renaissance terraces of the Raixa, and the arabic tilled patios of the Alfabia Gardens, I had one left on the list to enjoy – the Botanical Gardens in the citrus rich mountainous valley of Soller.

Soller’s Botanical Gardens did not disappoint. Created in 1985 as a centre for the conservation, study and understanding of Mediterranean flora, the garden is carefully split into diversely collected plant zones, from the cacti of the Canaries to local Balearic fruit varieties. And while many consider the Spring as a perfect time to make a visit to a garden, the autumn turned out to be a fine alternative, blessing our visit with an exquisite caramel light, and enabling for the enjoyment of a ripe harvest of shiny pink apples, ruby red peppers and yellowing citrus.

Surrounded by the dramatic landscape of the Tramuntana mountains, and benefiting from the coverage of numerous tree varieties, the garden was filled with both inspirational views and sun dappled corners made for meditative enjoyment. My favourite corner had to be the wetlands area, where a pond full of bountiful waterlilies was alive with the diving dance of dragonflies, whose rare and occasional pause on a leaf or bulrush enabled a truly unique appreciation of this fragile and elegant creature.

As ever, a garden proved that in life, the best moments are those which enable us to pause and appreciate the beautiful little things that occur naturally all around us.

© 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

Oct 12

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Norm Palma Series: Fishernorms survey their daily catch

Fishernorms have a difficult job. It’s not at all easy heading out into the dark inky seas of night to fish for a Norm’s livelihood, no matter how often the seas of the Mediterranean remain calm and balmy, nor how plentiful the fish. There will always be those days when a catch is disappointing or when the weather batters more than just the fish. Then of course there are those who moan about the European Union, and quotas, and restricted waters and who knows what else. But that’s quite enough about them. For this is a positive post, full of the optimism that only the joys which Palma’s splendid waterside marina can bring. With its mighty structure standing proud alongside the sea, the inspiring Cathedral of Palma is always the first glorious sighting the Fishernorms of Mallorca have when they haul in their daily catch to shore each morning. No wonder the Fishernorms of Palma are, by comparison with others, such happy folk.

Here in this week’s sketch we can see the Fishernorms, trawling through their daily catch one sunny bright morning in Palma. It might be a bustling city, but in Palma the port is stationed in the centre of the action. So everyday in the city, the Fishernorms can be seen laying out their nets to dry and counting their catch. The fresh perfume emanating from their paraphernalia provides a happy reminder for all Norms thereabouts that this is a city ideally situated on water, where the many fruits of the Mediterranean will always be close-by and easily enjoyed, especially thanks to the hard work of the Fishernorms.

© 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

Oct 10

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Inspired by my surroundings: Paseo Mallorca 3

The Paseo Mallorca, a stretch of treelined river in Palma, continues to inspire. I am lucky enough to live on this panorama of green which acts like the lungs of a city already awash with the air of the Mediterranean. It is, if you like, the perfect gateway to the sea from the city sprawl built up alongside it, since a stroll along this tree-lined avenue will take you directly down to the city’s magnificent port.

I set about painting this stretch of urban utopia a few months ago, starting with the bridge closest to the Es Baluard museum of art, and moving onto the bridge of Jaume III and the magnificent post-modern stretch of residential buildings beyond. In this third addition to the collection, I move further up the river, to the area where I live. Here the bridges are simplified but the greenery is all the more stunning. The colour palette is carefully chosen to represent the humid warmth of the season (I started the work on the painting in July), and also to perfectly partner the first painting in this group. For me it captures the essence of this happy, leafy suburbia which I am lucky enough to call home.

© 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

Oct 5

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Norms Palma Series: Babel Bookshop

So we’ve seen Norms resting over a coffee outside the Café Grand Hotel. And we’ve also seen them strolling along La Rambla in search of flowers. But far be it from me to suggest that Norms are little recreational hedonists. True, they like to relax, but they prefer to do so in only the most erudite of circumstances. Very few Norms are the sit around and do nothing type. Intelligence comes naturally to the Norms, after all, they were named after a famous and notoriously tricky piece of legal philosophy. And so even when they are sitting down to rest, their curiosity peaks, they remain inquisitive, they debate, they philosophise, and best of all they read.

This is the reason why in Palma, one of the Norms’ favourite corners of the city can be found where the Calle de Arabi meets the Cuesta de la Pols. It’s an area so uniquely cosy, with its cobbled streets, uneven staircase, and the ancient behind of the Church of San Miguel, that for many it reminds of the streets of Paris’ Left Bank or the area around the Spanish Steps in Rome. But it is not only this intellectual atmosphere which draws the Norms. In this same corner can be found one of Palma’s most charming bookshops , Babel – a veritable Aladdin’s cave for the scholarly Norm – and all with the added benefit of its very own cafe. Now that’s the Norm way to relax.

© 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

Oct 3

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Mallorca Moments: The Sea at Sunrise

As much as I love the autumn, one thing which I find somewhat depressing about the ongoing march of the year is the reduction in light. It seems that as each day of the year begins, there is a little less light available to assist in the difficult emergence from under the warmth of a snuggly duvet. Nevertheless, work does not wait for any man, and the need to start the day shrouded in a Wintery darkness will soon become a reality. However, every seasonal change brings with it its fair share of visual spectacles, and now that the light is fading, my customary morning walk now coincides with the precise moment when the sun rises above the silhouette of Palma de Mallorca’s impressive gothic cathedral.

While Palma’s autumn sun rises make for quite a spectacle, it is the effect of the morning light on the water in the port which really entices me. Enveloped in a warm glow varying between a nectarine yellow and a peachy pink, the gentle movement of the water against the port’s forest of white yachts and sailing boats creates reflections and ripples which are a true vision to behold. Readers of The Daily Norm will know that I am no stranger to the charm of a good ripple – these watery movements have inspired many an artwork in my past repertoire. But in the current light of autumn, Palma’s ripples are surely at their colourful best, a fact well in evidence in this collection of photos.

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.

Sep 27

Discovering Mallorca: Parc Natural de Montragó

A visit to the Parc Natural de Montragó on Mallorca’s South East coast pretty much summed up the current state of the Seasons. Walking through its abundantly planted forests of pines and locally occurring flora and fauna offered an embrace of the Autumn. There, the colours shone in the sunny September warmth with an auburn glow – even the greens had turned a golden-green, as though touched by a veil of Royal splendour. Yet as the forests gradually thinned and the shallow stream fanned out as it reached the sea, the colours transformed. No longer did the subtlety of Autumn reside, but the all conquering splendour of the summer, as we reached the most incredibly turquoise expanse of water I think I have ever seen.

It’s no wonder that the beach was unnaturally packed with people who, despite the promise of a swathe of untouched natural park, had somehow managed to find this little slice of paradise (as had an ugly prefab hotel, presumably constructed before the natural park status was awarded to the area). But who could blame them? With colour as vivid as this, Mallorca’s Montragó beach is every bit the Caribbean idyll whose image we all pour over in travel catalogues and whose colours we assume are faked. I expect those beaches are crowded in reality too.

Despite the crowds, there was no doubting the very invigorating thrill of swimming in waters which were almost electric in their colour. As the ripples of light passed over our skin, it was like being immersed in a Hockney painting in 60s LA. And as the Natural Park is indeed large, it didn’t require a whole lot of exploring to escape the more crowded areas. Strolling around a rocky headland, we soon found ourselves with access to a cove of water all of our own. Jumping into the sea from the precarious rocky outcrops, finally we had found the N in Natural. Just the two of us and a complete immersion in the outstanding beauty of nature.

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.