Painting | The Daily Norm

Dec 27

2015: Looking back at my year’s work

Each year I grow more and more frustrated that time seems to pass so quickly with so very little artwork done. I suppose its only natural for an artist, when new ideas and burning creativity consumes from within desperate to find its manifestation on canvas, or paper. And as the years go on, and time seems to be ticking closer towards the great unknown, that frustration only grows deeper.

And yet, as I look back upon the last year’s work, I cannot say that the year was unproductive. On the contrary, a glimpse over my creative output demonstrates a fair breadth of artistic endeavours, and shows that besides the obvious application of time spent enjoying the incredible Mediterranean surroundings in which I am now living, I also applied myself to expressing those visions in a concrete illustrated form.

Interpretations

Chief among my works for 2015 have been gouaches painted on paper. Perfect for their ease of use and the speed of their execution, I painted more gouache than any other paintings because they gave me moments of relaxation in between the pressures of work, and enabled me to quickly express my reaction to a new landscape or experience without lingering for months on a forever unfinished canvas.

Interpretation No. 13 – Ibiza (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Interpretation No. 14 , Deia (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Interpretation No. 15 – Malaga (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Interpretation No. 16: From La Rive Gauche (2015, © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Interpretation No. 17 – Autumn light on La Rambla (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

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

Ocho Balcones

Asides from adding new interpreted landscapes to my Interpretations collection, I also created a new collection of portrait-format gouaches painted of the eight views enjoyed from the eight balconies of our Palma old town apartment. And it’s a good job I did, for no sooner had the collection been completed, we moved out!

Ocho Balcones (No.1): From the bedroom

Ocho Balcones No. 2: Cables in the Calle (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ocho Balcones No. 3: KItchen Contrast (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ocho Balcones No.4: The Longest View (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ocho Balcones, No.5: The Summer Bathroom (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ocho Balcones No.6: Angled Perspective (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ocho Balcones No. 7: Dominik’s Office (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

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

The Honeymoon Suite

Of course my wedding and the honeymoon which followed were not only the central point of the year, but provided their own inspiration, not least at La Colombe d’Or hotel, where we were lucky enough to dine surrounded by original works by the likes of Leger, Braque and Picasso, and sunbathe under the wings of an Alexander Calder mobile. With only my small box of gouaches with me, I set about painting each of the rooms of the three hotels we stayed in, as well as the stunning leafy garden of the Colombe.

Honeymoon Suite I: Bedroom at La Colombe d’Or (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Honeymoon Suite II: Bedroom in the Chateau de Cagnard (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

The Honeymoon Suite 3: Bedroom at the Arai Barcelona

Breakfast at La Colombe d’Or (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Commissions

It was also a good year for Commissions, and apart from the wide variety of works created for my employer, a few outside commissions also enabled me to paint these works which made it into the press across Mallorca and beyond.

Antiguedades (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Autumn in Paris (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Ovejas en Orient (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

My travel sketchbook

Taking a break from all the colour, 2015 was also a bumper year for my travel sketchbook. Started the year before, it is now almost full to the bursting with sketches completed this year including landscapes from across Mallorca, the French Riviera, Ibiza and Marbella.

: Ibiza Town (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: The Tramuntana viewed from Fornalutx (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: The beach at Banyalbufar (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen and ink on paper)

: Orient Olive Tree (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Palma Cathedral from the Parc de la Mar (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Resting on La Rambla (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Cafe Corner, Biniaraix (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Poolside at La Colombe d’Or (2015, pen on paper © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown)

: The Peyra Gate, Vence (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: The beach at Antibes (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Cafe at the Calatrava Hotel (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Looking towards the Calatrava Hotel, Palma (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Garden at the Son VIscos (2015, © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Parque de la Constitucion (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Malaga Cathedral, detail (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Plaza de la Victoria, Marbella (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: Plaza de Santo Cristo, Marbella (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

: La Concha, Marbella (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

The Oil Paintings

And finally to what, perhaps, I do best – the mighty projects on canvas; oil paintings each of which take weeks if not months to complete, but whose realisation is all the more fulfilling because of the time spent. I painted very few completed works on canvas this year, but those which reached the finish line were mainly Mallorca based landscapes, my ultimate challenge being the 1.5m landscape of the Bay of Palma. A true achievement for the year 2015.

Orient (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, oil on canvas)

Mallorca Landscape (Chiringuitos) (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, oil on canvas)

An Englishman in Andalucia (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, oil on canvas)

The Bay of Palma (2015 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

And now, as I look forwards, with three large paintings already on the go, and a whole new sketchbook ready to be filled, I cannot wait to see what the next year of creativity will bring.

© 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

Dec 24

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Merry Christmas from The Daily Norm

Sometimes it’s hard to remember, as I look out of my window onto palm trees swaying in a gentle sunny breeze, that Christmas is upon us. Yet come nightfall, when the temperatures drop and that very same palm tree becomes emboldened with the thousands of fairy lights which have been wrapped around its trunk in celebration of the season, I know that this very special season has arrived. Mulled wine – that exquisite perfume of sweet cinnamon, citrus and rich red wine – ginger spices, old cloister carols and the flickering flames of candles fill my home now, and all around me it is truly beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

The Tree at San Miguel (2015, © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

But amongst the wrapping and the carols, the alcoholic indulgence and the preparations for the visit of Old Saint Nick, let me not forget all of you, my amazing Daily Norm readers, who have made blogging such a pleasure this year. I’m wishing you all the very happiest of Christmases, and a wonderful, prosperous and very exciting New Year. And as my parting Christmas gift, I hope you enjoy this last of my gouaches of the year – the incredible Christmas Tree (one of my own in fact!) at Cappuccino San Miguel, here in Palma de Mallorca.

Merry Christmas everyone! ¡Feliz Navidad!

© 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

Dec 21

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Art in London (Part 3): Giacometti Pure Presence

Say Alberto Giacometti to most art enthusiasts, and for the majority, an image of his long, spindly totem-pole like human sculptures will come to mind. For it is these famous works which made Giacometti’s name, and which today reach eye-wateringly high prices at auction. But for me, the true genius of this artist was not in his sculptures at all, but in his frenetic, impulsive two-dimensional works.

I first discovered the drawings of Giacometti when I attended a short course in life drawing at the Chelsea College of Art. The teacher was trying to ally the many frustrations spreading amongst the students in the room by the changing positions of the models both during the life drawing session, and after breaks. Yet as he attempted to show us through Giacometti’s work, a portrait does not have to comprise a single well-defined line, but can emerge from a series of lines and positions.

The portraits he showed us by way of example were by Giacometti, and in drawing his sitters, he did not concern himself with the perfect line of the face or body, but instead through a series of energetic lines, he would draw a fragmented impression of the sitter, building up the lines more and more until he got to the face, where the real details were introduced. The result was a drawing which focused so intently on the face that it appeared to be emerging from the paper.

So I was filled with excitement to discover that this autumn, the National Portrait Gallery in London are exhibiting a retrospective focusing on Giacometti’s many portraits. And while the show does this through some of the sculptures which made him famous, it is Giacometti’s two dimensional works on paper and on canvas which turned out to be as thrilling as I had anticipated.

Like drawings and paintings created from wire, or built up through a passionate and continued interaction between pencil (or paintbrush) and paper, Giacometti’s portraits are utterly unique, and, after what appears to be a process of interrogation and exploration of the flesh, result in vivid portraiture full of emotional depth. But while the Goya exhibition at the National Gallery next door tended to bring to life the story of each of Goya’s sitters, in Giacometti’s works, I could sense the passion and intention of the artist himself.

Giacometti: Pure Presence runs at The National Portrait Gallery until 10 January 2016.

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 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.

© 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 10

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Interpretation No. 16 – From La Rive Gauche, Paris

Although this week will mark a year’s anniversary since we moved from London to the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, I am invariably a creature of habit, and while I surround myself daily by some of the most beautiful views Europe has to offer, there are still some things I miss about my former London life. Prince among them, ironically, is not a London experience at all, but our annual trip, taking what I always consider to be a glamorous sub-Channel rail journey from London St Pancras to L’Estacion Gare du Nord, to visit my favourite amongst cities, Paris. And as that annual trip always happened around about now, I cannot hide my internal pining for the French city of lights.

So in my efforts to satisfy something of my longings, I have somewhat franco-fied my home life of late. On my ipod, the hauntingly beautiful songs of old 20s French cabaret play; on the TV, film favourites such as La Vie en Rose are on continuous repeat, and moving from my paintbrush, this very Parisian scene emerged – a gouache painting which becomes the newest in my simplified interpretations landscape series.

With its simplified colour palette of turquoise, ochre and grey, it reflects the memory of a similar such scene encountered just as we were crossing from the left bank on our last trip to Paris. I remember that the day had been pretty grey, but about the time the sun set, the clouds dispersed and left the sky a creamy golden yellow. This in turn reflected on the water, turning the grey River Seine a beautiful shade of turquoise which then glowed, almost unnaturally, against the greys and beiges of the surrounding city architecture.

It feels good to have Paris back in my life again… even if it is just 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. 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

Oct 19

An Englishman in Andalucia

Dark, broody, flames flickering through a purple and chocolate brown backdrop…a portrait on the wall is alive. Dressed in the guise of a toreador, it is my self-portrait, part alarmed, part anxious, as I consider conflict in my life… the ever omnipresent concerns which come of big changes and repercussive decisions, a conflict which is played out in reflection in a Spanish bull ring; the steady workmanship which comes of intricately embroidering the matador’s traje de luz being the catalyst of the conflict, as blood pours from the pin which pierces at the heart of the bull.

Set in the context of Andalucia, where I was when I painted the piece, this is the work of An Englishman in Andalucia… when my displacement in Marbella triggered a time of contemplation, when internal thoughts just poured onto the canvas. In the midsts of expressing my preoccupation of the time, I was inspired to utilise the Spanish corrida as my protagonist, having passed a bullfighting poster on my way to the beach. From that second onwards, this painting sprang into mind as I lay on the beach, and that afternoon I rushed home to start work on the piece.

It is a painting which deals with the contrasts and conflicts which are always present in my life. The fact of being English and living in Spain, the repercussions of pursuing a creative career which inevitably meant the sacrifice of another. It is a brooding contemplative piece, but for me its creation made for a satisfying process. And in so far as its motifs are therefore consequently dark, the effect of painting it was to fill my mind with clarity and light.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown 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 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.

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 5

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Ocho Balcones (No. 7): Dominik’s Office

After a week’s break, it’s back to business as usual this week as I share the penultimate balcony from my new Ocho Balcones collection of gouaches, all of which feature one of the eight different views we enjoy from our old town apartment here in Palma de Mallorca.

This week, I feature the exclusive little office space which my partner Dominik occupied with such enthusiasm from the first days of our time in this apartment, filling this classic study space with his many books, a fancy glass desk, a whole host of my norm sketches, and best of all… a balcony full of cacti of every different shape and size. And in wanting to focus in on this verdant feature of the balcony, I used a small dose of artistic license to tone down the colours of the street outside in order to create a more uniform sepia backdrop, allowing the green of the cacti to pop.

But while the cacti may be the protagonists of this piece, Dominik’s simple desk lamp tends to take on its own staring role, its angular black structure contrasting perfectly with the curving wrought iron balconies and horizontal stripes of the electricity cables outside in the street.

7 down and 1 to go. The Ocho Balcones collection is nearing its close. See you soon, for the final instalment.

© 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

Sep 28

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My Palma: 6 months, 157 buildings and 205 boats

I interrupt my weekly digital exhibition of gouaches in my Ocho Balcones collection to present, with a considerable degree of excitement, my newest oil painting: The Bay of Palma. Started back in April when I found a typical little postcard of this typical view of the sprawling bay of Palma de Mallorca, I couldn’t resist the temptation to paint this city I have so come to love on the largest scale possible. So starting work on an immense 152 x 101 cm canvas, I set about painting what must be one of the most complicated painting projects of my art career.

Just the cathedral alone took endless hours of laboured work and adjustments of proportion, let alone the city which surrounds it and then those dreaded boats. Ah the boats… how I agonised over painting these seemingly innocuous white forms, correcting shadows and trying to paint masts with a shaking hand. But once 205 of them were done, I stood back in pride and admiration at what I had a achieved: a landscape which is both a typical view of this most admired of cities, but which was nonetheless technically difficult to capture, both because of its size and its detail. But I am delighted with the result.

I am therefore proud to share this painting exclusively on The Daily Norm along with a few shots of some of the many details which fill the work. I hope you like it!

© 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.delacy-brown.com