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Posts tagged ‘Nicholas De Lacy-Brown’

Sep 18

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Autobiographical Mobile: My painting diary – Day 6: The Calder Mobile

The main pretext of my new autobiographical paintings is the mobile which sits at its centre. Stranded in the middle of my coved Mallorcan beach, a large mobile sits surreally on 3 metal legs, and from its iron frame will hang the symbols which, on my autobiographical mobile, represent what significant events have both enhanced and damaged my life, all having a changing impact, whether for better or for worse. In this way, my mobile seeks to balance out the good with the bad, demonstrating the idea of equilibrium in life, the silver lining to every cloud, taking the rough with the smooth, while in undertaking the balancing act, the mobile resembles a scales of justice. Which is no coincidence – I am a qualified lawyer after all.

The Calder room at Washington DC National Gallery

My mobile takes inspiration from one of my all time favourite artist/ sculptors: Alexander Calder. American born Calder (July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was best known as the originator of the mobile. His works were graceful, kinetic structures, delicately balanced or suspended, their components moving in response to the environment in which they were situated (or occasionally by motor). The word “mobile” is said to have originated from Duchamp who, as a friend to Calder during the 20s in Paris, named Calder’s sculptures such to reflect their continuous movement and mobility. In 1929 Calder held his first show of wire sculptures and never looked back. His works are now regarded as being amongst the earliest manifestations of an art that consciously departed from the traditional notion of the art work as a static object and integrated the ideas of motion and change as aesthetic factors. His mobiles contained elements of largely abstract, monochrome shapes and plain colours, creating beauty in shape rather than detail. As his popularity grew, so did his mobiles become greater, and more and more appeared in public places all over the world, from JFK Airport (1957) to UNESCO in Paris (1958) and the Olympic Stadium for the Mexico games (1968). Needless to say, they are now a staple of early 20th century art history.

I first imported the notion of the mobile into my paintings earlier this year when I set about painting the city of Salamanca following my visit there in the Spring. There were so many features of the city which I wanted to represent, but to simply paint them without purpose or context would have been, to my mind, an artificial exercise. I therefore decided to paint the features of the city suspended from mobiles which in turn metamorphosed out of the iron crosses atop both the Cathedral and the University. In this way I was able to paint the various images of the city upon two competing mobiles, representing the age-long conflict between the traditionalist Church and the Enlightenment.

Salamanca (2012 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, oil on canvas, 105 cm x 90 cm)

This painting in turn inspired my current work which will centralise the idea of the mobile yet further, promoting it as a balancer of my life’s story so far. It is perhaps ironic that the mobile, beautiful by reason of its three dimensional form and capacity to move is, in my paintings, fixed in time. Yet the beauty of this slender armature loses none of its grace by reason of its immobility.

I painted the base of the mobile first, and then the arms. It was so difficult to paint those black lines straight. My hand was shaking all over the place. Oh, I also painted the little rocky cliffs in the background too.

Up next will be the various items hanging from the mobile. I move onto them this week.

In the meantime, here is a gallery of some of my favourite Calder mobiles. Until next time…

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2012. 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.

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Sep 9

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The Daily Sketch: Paralympic Norms at London 2012

After 7 years of preparation and even more before that of imagination, London 2012 will officially reach its grand finale tonight as the petal cauldron is extinguished for the final time, and fireworks fill the skies in celebration of what has surely been the most spectacular Olympic and Paralympic games known to man.

In the parallel olympiad celebrated in Norm world, the Norm Paralympic Games have been a roaring success. Here we see the paralympic stars of the wheelchair 1500km. It’s the final lap, and crowd favourite, Normi the Brit, is on the outside lap, neck and neck for second place but doing everything in his Norm power to overtake Normski, the Russian paralympian currently taking the lead. Will the crowd spur Normi on to victory?

Meanwhile in the background, another paralympian Norm takes their turn in the wheelchair discus. These sporting achievements are a fantastic accomplishment for the paralympian Norms who, by reason of their bodies’ lost ability to bounce properly, have been rendered disabled and reliant upon a wheelchair for their transportation. Yet despite this obvious disadvantage in life, they have proved that any obstacle, no matter how severe, can be overcome with perseverance and strength of will. In this respect the Paralympic games have been a lesson for us as, and their legacy, rising from the ashes of the extinguished flame tonight, will surely live on for generations to come.

Paralympian Norms in the Wheelchair 1500km (2012 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2012. 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.

 

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Sep 4

The Daily Sketch: Norms guillotined in the Place de la Concorde

As the rigour and excitement of the Paralympic Games continues to thrill not only us in London, but also the millions of viewers around the world, spare a thought for those young ones amongst us for whom this week may well spell the end of their summers and the start of a whole new school year. God, I used to hate this time of the year – that compulsory trip to the school uniform shop with my mother, trying on a scratchy new knitted jumper, full of foreboding for the cold days and dark nights to come, the homework, the long lessons and the exams at the end of it all, and all this when my golden summer tan was still fresh on my skin.

For many, that time has come, but as this Norm sketch shows, learning need not be a drag, especially if history is on the timetable for the first day. History is all around us you see, and this is no more so than in Paris, a city laced with its own fair share of gruesome tales, like this one, in the Place de la Concorde (or the Place de la Révolution as it was known then), where on 21 January 1793, King Louis XVI was sensationally beheaded upon the gruesome guillotine, along with his much despised wife, Queen Marie Antoinette (“let them eat cake” and all that jazz).

Norms guillotined in the Place de la Concorde (2012 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

Here we join this bloody day of Norm history, as Marie Antoinette has just lost her head, and Louis XVI, looking at the blade hanging menacingly above his head, knows that he is next. All around him, the soldiers of the revolution see that this day of reckoning goes down without interruption, while close by, the serene elaborate statues of the nearby fountains look on, a reminder that although all we see today is the architectural glory of this square, not so many years ago it was a place of significant blood shed and historical significance.

Vive la Révolution! (Not that I approve of beheading I should add).

See you next time.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2012. 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.

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Sep 3

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Autobiographical Mobile: My painting diary – Days 2-5: Bilbao and Fluffy

For those of you who are long term readers of The Daily Norm, you may remember, either from my post in which I extolled the virtues of a good teddy bear, or from their occasional appearance in my photos of daily life, that I have two very important little teddies who follow me around in my life – Bilbao, a little dog, given to me by my Partner as I came round from a rather hideous sixth leg operation semi-conscious in my hospital bed, and Fluffy, a little teddy (once far fluffier than he is now, much loved and slightly matted) who I gave to my partner as a thanks for all those bedside vigils and the much required care which followed by post-operative state. Ever since, these two little characters have been our constant companions in life, and inevitably, they have crept into my art too.

Bilbao and Fluffy, pose for their portraits

Last week I started my painting diary in what will be almost like an autobiography on canvas – a large painting which aims to explore various components of my life, past and present. Because they represent the contentment and stability of my home life, Bilbao and Fluffy are integral features of my story, and were therefore the first characters to make it onto canvas as my painting progressed to the semi-finished Mallorcan background of last week’s post, to the more detailed work which I have now started.

I thought this would take me around a day to achieve, but as I started to paint Bilbao, it soon dawned on me what a daunting undertaking it would be to paint all of his knitted body. He took me FOREVER to paint. At the end of day two I had managed to paint his head, which then floated around disconcertingly bodyless for a whole night, all the more freaky for having successfully captured that twinkle in his eye.

By the end of day three, I had done most of his body (bar one leg, the angle of which I found difficult) and his little red t-shirt (I needed to be careful this didn’t bleed into the beige of his knitting).

Bilbao was finished on day four, comme ça…

And Fluffy, thank goodness, didn’t take half as long, and I completed him, together with crumpled little ribbon, pretty swiftly on day five.

So there you have it, the painting so far, slowly progressing and presenting patience-trying technical demands from the start. Who would have thought that two cute teddies would prove to be such a painting challenge?

I leave you with a few photos of Fluffy and Bilbao in different locations throughout the world, just in case you weren’t already convinced that I am slightly eccentric.

Hoping to be able to update you with more painting progress soon. Until then…

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2012. 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.

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Aug 30

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The Daily Sketch: Pharaoh Norms return to the Louvre

London’s Paralympics have begun, and peoples from around the world have drained away from their home cities and headed for London, newly reappointed centre of the world. In fair Paris, with the August absence of the Parisians still conspicuous, and a raft of tourists headed North over La Manche, a group of strange looking Norms have taken advantage of the silence descending the city, and arrived at the famous Musée du Louvre in search of something which they think belongs to them.

Attracted by the familiar shape of the Louvre’s huge glass pyramid, now the iconic symbol of a reimagined contemporary Louvre, designed by I M Pei, and made all the more famous by the conspiracy theories of Dan Brown, these Norms emerge from the ancient land of Egypt, brought back to life from deep within their gilded tombs in search of the historical artefacts ravaged from their burial places and placed in grand museums such as the Louvre. Yes, the Pharaoh Norms have returned to the Louvre, in search of their birthright heritage, and yet dragging with them a Mummy Norm, just in case they change their mind and decided to make a new donation to the French collection… (they’re rather capricious, these ancient Egypnorms).

Here we join them as they formulate a strategy for their great heist of the Louvre’s Egyptology galleries. They’ve found the pyramid, but the glass has confused them. Is this witchcraft which has made the pyramid appear before them and yet not? There’s much to muse over in this brave new world around them. I think we’ll leave them to it.

Pharaoh Norms return to the Louvre (2012 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2012. 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.

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Aug 28

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Autobiographical Mobile: My painting diary – Day 1: Mallorca

Since I started The Daily Norm last year, in those unenriched days when my interaction with the abundant world of the blogosphere was only just beginning, I have featured a fair number of my own paintings on my blog, attempting, as I have posted their photos, to explain some of the meaning behind what are often quite complex painted images. For my latest painting, I am changing tack.

In my current  work, which has now been sitting upon my easel for some weeks, I am exploring an autobiographical subject matter on a grand scale (the canvas is 120cm x 120 cm, so a fair size for my lounge-come-studio to take when you consider that when I paint, I basically take over my kitchen – leading to some interesting food results when the paint gets too close to the oven top). Because the work is essentially a self-portrait albeit explored through a catalogue of symbols on a large Mediterranean background, I anticipate working on the canvas for some time before it is finished, particularly as painting is not my day job. Since that will mean a sparsity of artwork available for Daily Norm consumption in the foreseeable future, and because I plan to paint a plethora of details, I thought it would be equally relevant to blog about the painting as it progresses, rather than ramble at length when it is eventually finished.

First layer done – the Mallorcan inspired background

You join me then in what is the first post of my painting diary, a set of hopefully regular accounts cataloguing my progress on the work. In my first instalment, I present the background of my work. I decided to set the piece on a quiet, rocky beach, somewhere on the island of Mallorca. The background is far from finished – this is just a sketch of where the finished scenery will be set, but it provides enough structure, allowing me to build the details of the painting on top of it, layer by layer.

The background is loosely based on Torrent de Pareis, a beach in Northern Mallorca which provides stunning natural scenery but which, for the purposes of my painting, provides the right balance of solitary surrealism to cast the perfect backdrop to my self-analysing piece.

The Torrent de Pareis in reality

And its crystal clear waters

Since the painting will be a take on my story, it’s only appropriate that I should set it in the Mediterranean and on Spanish soil since Spain has, for most of my life, proved to be a consistent inspiration in my art and in my aspirations for life. While I have spent the majority of my time in Andalucia, my trip to the island of Mallorca this time last year inspired me more than any other. Expecting an island full of package holiday tourists and English menus, I was surprised, if not stunned by the incredible coastal scenery to be found around the island (once we fled from the ugly shadows cast by Magaluf and other tourist dystopias). The waters are such an incredible shade of blue, and the rocky covey beaches so idyllic and colourful, that seeing is believing. I accordingly enclose just a few of the shots I took of Mallorca’s incredible coastal scenery last summer – the colours alone are an art form in themselves. I just hope that my painting does Mallorca justice, even as just a background to a far deeper work.

See you for the next instalment of my painting diary.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2012. 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.

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Aug 20

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The Daily Sketch: Nun Norms visit the Sacré Coeur

Back to Paris, where the Norms continue to pass the time between Olympic and Paralympic excitement by visiting the fair city at the political and cultural centre of France. But today, we do not join the typical kind of tourists. Rather, here at the stunning Sacré Coeur atop Paris’ Butte de Montmartre, two groups of Norm Nuns have come to visit their fellow Nuns who reside at one of Paris’ most iconic sacred spots. One group, from the Convent of Sister Norma in Sittingbourne (in the ordinary black habits) are not sure what is more fascinating – the Sacré Coeur and its unbeatable views of Paris below, or the strange pointy Cornette habits of their fellow nuns, visiting form El Convento de Maria Norma de Nova in Castille y Leon. Whatever their interest, all the Nun Norms are assured a happy day out in Montmartre, Paris’ crowning glory.

Nun Norms visit the Sacré Coeur, Paris (2012 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2012. 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.

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Aug 19

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Sunday Supplement – Cityscape I: London

London is the word on everyone’s lips right now. Yes, the olympic games are over, but the paralympics will start in just under a week, and the buzz around them continues to grow. For the influx of visitors descending upon our currently hot and humid jam-packed olympian city, the river will be a highlight of their sightseeing tour, the huge central artery which snakes through the crowded metropolis, marking the physical divide between the characteristically different North and South, providing grand vistas aplenty from the many elegant wide bridges, and, on the South Bank, playing host to the rejuvenated cultural heartbeat of the city.  On the river too stand some of London’s most prominent sights: the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, the London Assembly Building, the London Eye, and this one: The iconic Houses of Parliament.

What the Eiffel Tower is to Paris, Big Ben is to London. Strangely enough, Big Ben is the bell in the tower rather than the tower itself, but it’s this high-gothic, grand and decadent campanile which gets the tourists excited and marks the beginning of each new year with such ceremony and aplomb, surrounded by fireworks, the iconic spectacle marking the passage of every significant moment in the city’s history. The view of Big Ben and the House of Parliament to its side have understandably inspired photographers and artists throughout the ages. Monet was fascinated by the effect of light in the dense fog surrounding the looming silhouette of Parliament, while Turner painted the fiery ravage of Parliament’s predecessor repeatedly.

This is my take on Parliament. It’s part of my cityscape collection, a small group of city views which I painted back in 2007 when I was trying to get the hang of oil paints after a long period of painting in acrylics. So it’s more of a study piece really, but still one of my favourite pieces of London.

Oh, and if you like it and fancy my painting hanging in your home, you can get limited edition prints of the work on my main website here.

Cityscape I: London (2012 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, oil on canvas)

Have a great Sunday.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2012. 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.

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Aug 16

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The Daily Sketch: Norms at the Musée Rodin

The London 2012 olympics are over, and the Norms have a heavy dose of iPod (“I’m Post-olympically depressed”) syndrome. Where better then to go and while away the days before the glorious paralympics begin than to cross La Manche and to head to London’s sister city, the glamorous centre of all things aesthetically superior, the city of light, Paris. And as it’s summer, the Norms are naturally attracted to the outside – to the passage of time amongst trees and well tended lawns, amongst grand houses and elegant roses, where the butterflies flutter and the birds sing their summer song.

But the Norms are a cultured folk, and they like to pass their days with a heavy dose of art to boot. Where better then than the Musée Rodin, home of the pensive Le Penseur Norm and the ever romantic The Norms Kiss sculptures, created by that great 19th century sculptor, Norm Rodin himself. Perfectly trimmed topiary and beautifully tended gardens with a backdrop of the decadent Hôtel Biron and a picture perfect view of Les Invalides and the Tour Eiffel herself. Who could ask for more? Vive Les Norms a Paris!

Norms at the Musée Rodin, Paris (2012 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2012. 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.

Aug 9

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The Daily Sketch London 2012 – 100 metres at the Athletics Stadium

It’s the race that everyone wants to see. It’s over in less than 10 seconds, and yet it’s one of the most watched televised events when it occurs every 4 years in the Norm olympics. For the London games, there is no exception. As the huge multi-petal copper cauldron burns on, and the chants of the massive Norm crowd are roused to an almost deafening volume, the Norm athletes prepare themselves for the race of their life. There is no running in Norm-land, only bouncing, but boy do these Norms bounce fast. Blink twice and you’ll miss it. So hold tight and keep your eyes wide open. Get set, ready – it’s the Norm 100 metres – GO!

Norms in the Athletics stadium (2012 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2012. 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.

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