Mallorca | The Daily Norm

Nov 16

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.

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

Nov 4

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New Horizons / Goodbye to Loved Ones

There is a very good reason why moving house is said to be one of, if not the most stressful experiences in a person’s average life: because it’s true. What looks on paper to be a simple event, with just a little effort and a few cardboard boxes thrown in, quickly becomes a herculean effort with as much cardboard and bubble wrap as would be required to encase your average skyscraper. Or so it was with my move that is, the second in just 12 months, across from one end of Palma de Mallorca to the other. The move marked a clear inconvenience, but for many reasons was both necessary and desirable. And it was with these many positives in mind that we maintained our resolve as we heaved suitcases full of books and paintings across the cobbled streets and many stairs which fill the centre of Palma.

Almost 8 weeks after the moving process first began, we have finally began to settle in our new abode; a modern apartment which is reminiscent of our comfortable London home, except that here we benefit from a sizeable terrace and a wonderful view of palm trees and cypresses – one view you are sure not to get in Blighty. And now with the comfort of settling in finally upon us, the time to contemplate our new space and surroundings has also arrived, and in these first photos, I wanted to share with you some of my first shots, not within the new flat, but outside it. For as I awake in the morning, or gaze at a sunset upon the onset of the night, it is the views from this new home which enchant me… new views to get lost in; new horizons to explore.

But the time of our acquaintance with a fresh start in a new home coincided with the time of the year when people tend to direct their minds backwards; to a past in which a loved one was by their side; to a time when a person’s presence made their lives very different. For in the world outside of our new home, Spain was marking its day of the dead, and in La Rambla, the sprawling flower market lining the entire central avenue of one of Palma’s principle boulevards, flower arrangements created to newly embellish the gravesides of lost love ones overflowed onto the pavements, so that down this road of some half a kilometre in length, it was like a single wave of bounteous colour had erupted across the ordinarily grey road.

As with the cemeteries I love, the Day of the Dead is undoubtedly characterised by a sense of pathos and loss, but none can deny the beauty which accompanies this annual day of remembrance; when from the bleak monotony of sadness, colour erupts in a floral feast to mark a fresh adieu to lost loved ones.

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.

Oct 30

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Daily Norm Photo of the Week: Layered Landscape, Felantix

I’m not sure whether these photos look more like the rolling hills of Tuscany, or somewhere in the North of England. They are in fact taken from a roadside near Felantix in Mallorca. I had been driving along one of the long straight roads which characterise the Eastern side of the island when I noted the beauty of a nearby hillside toped with a series of ancient castle towers and windmills. In the foreground, the soft light glowing gently around the edges of the local sheep enchanted me, and the mix of pastoral idealism and the industrial scene shown at mid level in the landscape meant a must-have shot. So, much to my partner’s horror, I stopped the car mid road, jumped out, and quickly took these few shots. Not to be recommended, but well worth the effort.

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.

Oct 28

Discovering Mallorca: Porto Colom – Porto Cristo

The island of Mallorca is simply awash with little caves and ports, calas and bays, embarcaderos and beaches… after all, it is surrounded by the sea. But it is the uniquely mountainous, richly geological landscape of the island which means that where that land meets the sea, it does so with a series of stunning natural results. One such consequence of this relationship are the caves I featured a few posts ago, and those incredible underground chambers are far from unique on this island of plenty. But only a few minutes from those caves, and indeed extending all the way along the Eastern coast of Mallorca, are a series of little bays and ports all of which betray a certain tranquil nature much removed from the bustling city of Palma.

So now that the intense heat of the summer has past, we recognised that the time to set about discovering more of Mallorca was surely upon us, and with my mother’s visit in part coinciding, we set about discovering two of the ports on the East Coast.

Porto Colom

The Porto Colom was all about its embarcaderos… the little boat houses with their whimsically painted doors, lined up in a row just like the typical English beach hut, but having the distinctly Mallorquin advantage of plunging straight into a turquoise blue sea. Spreading across a zig zagging craggy coast line, the port had something of a dual character, with a charming old town, a two-towered church at its centre, on one side, and a more commercial fishing port lined by gently angled pine trees on the other.

Just up the coast, and 3 minutes from the Cuevas Drach, the Porto Cristo was an altogether more touristy affair. Chasing the nostalgia of my mother who had holidayed there in the 70s, the port remained in part exactly as she had remembered it, with a horrifying array of crass tourist menus displaying row upon row of numbered photos of food, without even a description to explain what the dish was.

Porto Cristo

However happily our initial shock was replaced by the happy coincidence of our discovery of the port’s beautifully sandy beach, with cerulean waters splashing gently against the cliffs which plunge dramatically into the sea along the beach’s egde. We were also glad to find that not all the restaurants relied upon a catalogue of photos, and a short walk along the waterfront led us to a more salubrious slice of town, where we wiled away the early afternoon with a glass or two of wine and a few delicious Italian dishes… with no numbered photo in sight.

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.

Oct 16

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Discovering Mallorca: The Caves of Drach

The Caves of Drach, just outside Porto Cristo in Mallorca, sound like something out of a Count Dracula horror film. And in so far as they take the visitor far into the murky depths of Mallorca’s geological bedrock, they wouldn’t make for an inappropriate halloween backdrop. But the horror of visiting these sprawling caves on the East coast of the island was, for me, the fear of the tourist commercialisation which tends to haunt such sights. After all, the caves are widely publicised across Mallorca with a typically crass theme-park style poster of a westernised white-teethed family gasping in delight at the caves around them. My response to this vulgarity was consequently avoidance, and my preference, instead, was always to retreat to the idyllic solitude of the mountains. But when my mother came to Mallorca, and wished to relive the nostalgia of her 1970s holidays on the island, I was persuaded at last to visit the caves, tourists, tat ‘n all.

As it turned out, those gaudy promotional posters were where the last of the horror ended, for once we left the autumn sunshine behind and made our decent into these extensive underground chambers, there was nothing but a visual sensation to be enjoyed. Words cannot express the utmost wonder I experienced when I entered the Caves of Drach, and nor indeed can these somewhat amateurish photos come close to capturing the most incredible sights with which we were met. For in these incredible caves, believed to have been formed over millions of years by the sea forcing its way into Mallorca’s harsh rocky coastline, we were treated to visions which ranged from the brilliantly magnificent to the utmost surreal, as sinister twisting forms grew from the floor and dripped from the ceiling, rocks appeared to grow like a thousand interwound trees or like wafer-thin starched material, and turquoise waters glowed like precious gems amongst velvet black shadows.

And at the heart of it all, the Martel lake, which at 115m in length is believed to be one of the largest under-ground lakes in the world, provided the most touching spectacle of all. With the caves plunged into pitch blackness, we were treated to a floating classical concert of musicians floating on lit-boats, gliding along the water like a vision straight out of baroque Venice (sadly, photos at this point were banned). For an artist like me, obsessed as I am with ripples and the effect of light on water, this experience was truly startling, and with the tears of inspiration pricking at my eyes, those ripples seemed to refract and multiply as I entered a whole new level of multi-sensorial experience.

So out of this experience, I emerge into the light of day an artist truly inspired, with a lesson learnt for the future: don’t judge an attraction by its promotional cover… the most visited attractions are visited for a reason!

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.

Oct 14

Deia’s Autumn Review

Beautiful, wonderful Deia…the little village which clings so serenely to the vertiginous slopes of Mallorca’s Tramuntana mountains, but which has inspired so many artists, poets and writers a thousand times over. And such is the staggering beauty of this mountainside marvel that the manifesto of every artist should include a visit to the village, at least once in every season. So when my Mother recently came to stay, it seemed a perfect opportunity to once again take the winding coastal road from Valldemossa to this famous home of creative greats, not only to re-encounter my adored Deia for the umpteenth time this year, but to see it in an altogether new light: an autumn light.

Deia in the autumn did not disappoint. Shrouded in the golden light of October, it took on a new ephemeral beauty magnified by the sprinkling of clouds which cast strong pillars of light sporadically over the mountainside. In the garden of Robert Graves’ house, a must-visit for my erudite mother, Spring blossom had given way to rich orange bourganvilla, plump oranges and a fresh harvest of home-grown vegetables.

Meanwhile, down on the spectacular Cala Deia, which we descended in order to enjoy a phenomenal squid lunch down by the foaming sea’s edge, the low autumn sun cast dramatic shadows over the naturally surreal rocky landscape. And while the sun descended quicker than it had on my first visit to the Cala some months before, there were no shortage of people enjoying the beach. In fact at one point it was so full, it looked more like Brighton on a rare sunny bank holiday.

No matter how many times I visit the magical village of Deia, I cannot help but be touched by the mystical atmosphere which envelopes the place. Whether it be in the mysterious mists of morning, the balmy summer nights punctuated by the chorus of cicadas, or now in the melancholic light of October, I remain firmly magnified by this little Elysium by the sea. And having now experienced its magic for herself, I can confidently add my mother to the multitude of admirers who fall in love with Deia afresh each season.

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.

Oct 12

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Ocho Balcones (No. 8): The Artist’s Studio

It’s almost unbelievable that over 2 months have gone by since I shared the first balcony from my Ocho Balcones collection, the series of gouaches which illustrate the 8 balcony views which we have enjoyed over the past year living in the old town of Palma de Mallorca. But on this final post of the series, the collection comes to a close, and a very appropriate close at that… since the last balcony which remains is the view of, and from, my art studio.

It’s by far the space in which I have spent the most time in this Palma apartment, since in this little space which I can call my own, I not only created all of the art works which have filled my oeuvre over the last year, but I also spend time editing photos, working on admin, and of course writing this very blog. The painting is more multicoloured than the rest of the series, in an apt illustration of my studio which is full of paintings characterised by my iconic use of colour. And while this painting of course focuses on the balcony at the heart of the studio space, there are a few tantalising glimpses of some of the paintings which have filled the space… from the large Palma landscape which I was working on for 6 months, to Arrival, the first work I completed in Palma, and a thin slice of Pink Bf, one of my most beloved paintings. Also in the painting are various other personal touches, from the collection of Alexander Girard wooden dolls which I always keep close at hand, to the little cuddly pear which I recently collected with a series of vouchers from my local supermarket, El Corte Ingles.

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

And so, with my art studio, I close the Ocho Balcones collection. And this closure is appropriate in a number of ways, not only because it shows the heartland of my creative life, but because it is posted just days before we leave this lovely apartment for good. For we are moving on to pastures new, not outside of Mallorca, but somewhere close by… a fresh new apartment with a new art studio space. And amongst those works which I am sure will be made there, maybe our new balcony/terrace will feature too.

© 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 9

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Red Wines, Autumn Vines; The José L Ferrer Bodega

If Mallorca had been lacking the rich tones of autumn when I shared the last glimpses of green a few weeks ago, those colours were in no way lacking on my recent visit to the José L Ferrer vineyard and wine cellars. There, vine leaves had turned blood-red burgundy and an earthy shade of umber while among them voluptuous ripe grapes hung in thirsty wait for their conversion into wine. Meanwhile, the ground glowed an equally striking shade of russet red, while above and around, amongst the stunning surroundings of the Tramuntana mountains, thin horizontal strata of clouds seemed to echo the mountain range, extending the rocky folds into the sky.

Founded in 1931, the José L. Ferrer vineyards and bodega were founded by its namesake, and the bodega’s distinctive orange-labelled red vintage has become an icon of Mallorcan wines. But beyond the standard red, the 98 hectares of red Manto Negro, Callet and white Moll vines produce an impressive array of different wines which exhibit all of the earthy character of the mountainous landscape and the exquisite aroma of the Mediterranean.

And of course I speak from experience, as beyond exploring the beautiful landscape full of ripe and recently-harvested vines, the highlight of the day had to be wine tasting itself… I mean you know you’re onto a good thing when a row of 5 gleaming wines are laid out before you, along with a large platter of local cheese and a creamy intense olive oil produced from the same land. Amongst those we tried, my favourite had to be the Veritas Roig, a fresh and perfectly balanced pale rosé loaded with the aromas of rose petals, white fruits and citrus. A veritable burst of summer in a season now fully metamorphosing into autumn.

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.