Posts tagged ‘Spain’

Nov 23

New Norm Exclusive: Flamenco Norm

Image via Wikipedia

From the first Norm I painted to the newest… during the last two days of the Daily Norm’s Spanish season, I will be presenting the two new Norm paintings which I have been working on while in Spain. This is something of an exclusive for the Daily Norm, and for me, as this is the first time I am presenting my “next generation Norms” to the public. Unlike the limited collection of original Norm canvases, the next generation Norms are slightly more sophisticated, benefitting no doubt from several years of interim painterly experience, although maintaining the same air of lighthearted joie de vivre as the original collection.

The first next generation Norm is Flamenco Norm. Flamenco Norm is something of a star. She exudes the energetic, impassioned movement of the flamenco, the multiple folds and frills of her polka-dot skirt swirling through the air as her body pulses with the intense and powerful rhythm provided by the guitar player behind her. Her arm is thrust upwards as the energy and spirit of the dance reaches the tips of her twisting fingers, while in her face, her eyes close in the intensity of the moment of duende, when all the raw, almost orgasmic emotions of the dance culminate in a moment of pure, uninhibited passion. Around her, the setting is an old flamenco club like those found in the smallest little villages of Andalucía, where the priority is not in the outmoded decor of the yesteryears, but in the moment of the dance. Hence the walls are starting to bulge and crack, the posters on the wall advertise past flamenco stars, alcoholic beverages and other flamenco paraphernalia, a single bulb hangs from the ceiling lighting only the star of the show, and the wooden floor is battered down by generations of dancing spectacles upon its resonant boards.

Flamenco Norm (2011, acrylic on canvas) © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown

This is not the first time I have been inspired to paint the flamenco. Below is my 2004 painting Duende, painted to a degree in the style of Picasso, the dancer’s face betraying dual emotions as she both fights and indulges in the intensity of emotion rupturing at the moment of duende.

Duende (2004, acrylic on canvas) © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2005-2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from the 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.

Nov 21

The rain in Spain… and other Spanish truisms

There is a common vernacular, made famous no doubt by the mellifluous tones of Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, that the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. I beg to disagree. The rain in Spain in fact falls on the coast, over the mountains, outside in the garden and sometimes (because the houses here really aren’t built for the rain), inside. This past weekend,

Rain flowing down the roads in Marbella yesterday

staying on the Costa del “Sol” has been like living under a power shower as the skies bucketed down in a continuous barrage of water. The Spanish tourism industry claim that the Costa del Sol enjoys an average of 300 days of sunshine per year but I doubt that average reflects current trends. Every time I come out to Spain other than in July or August, it rains, torrentially. The houses, with cool interiors and flat roofs are built for the sun, and feel damp and miserable when it’s wet outside. The road drainage is similarly built to cope with occasional showers. Yesterday my mother and I were stranded in a café as rivers of rainwater gushed down the streets, turning the roads into rivers, leaving all those who had not thought to bring wellington boots on holiday (?!) unable to cross. There is a similarly common vernacular in Spain, that all the English flood into Spain to escape “rainy” England. The tables are surely turning, no doubt as global warming takes hold, and in 20 years don’t be surprised to find a barrage of Spanish owned second homes on Britain’s south coast, as the Spanish flee the newly named “Costa del Lluvia” in search of sun! Read more

Nov 20

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Sunday Supplement: ¡Guerra! The Spanish Civil War

While I gather it’s traditional for blogs to be published on workdays, here at the Daily Norm, we like to provide a complete weekly service. So every weekend I aim to provide the Daily Norm’s loyal readers with a Sunday supplement of a cultural kind (after all, if you’re like me, you’ll head straight to the culture section of the Sunday paper!). For the first few weeks, the Sunday Supplement with provide me with the opportunity to showcase some of my (non-Norm) artwork. While pictures of my paintings have been online in various forms for some time, the Sunday Supplement provides me with an opportunity to discuss the meaning behind the imagery.

This weekend, in conjunction with the Daily Norm’s current Spanish focus, I am showcasing the painting “¡Guerra! The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939” from my “España Volver” Collection. Meaning “return to Spain”, I painted the collection in 2009-2010, when a reinvigorated interest in Spain inspired several comprehensive works. It was a “return” because Spain has long been an influence in my work. But with the España Volver collection, my return to Spain as a subject was inspired more specifically by the nation’s social, political and historical landscape. It seems appropriate then to discuss one of my most political of Spanish paintings on this, the day that Spain goes to the polls in a general election.

Nov 17

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Norm Profile: Matador Norm and the beauty of the Corrida

As part of my introduction to the Norms which I’ve painted so far, it is only appropriate, since I write this is sunny Spain, that the first Norm to take the stand is Matador Norm. He’s a popular chap: Used as the principle publicising image of my 2006 solo exhibition “Between Me and My Reflection”, he was one of the first paintings to be sold on the opening night. The buyer (who’s name, of course, I am not at liberty to publicise) is the owner of one of the UK’s most prominent men’s fashion and accessories brands and I was therefore delighted when the sale was made – the buyer obviously has excellent taste! While Norms have always been popular amongst my dedicated art-loving followers, it did not surprise me that Matador Norm had particular appeal. The image, with its warm golden colours, the sparkling costume of the Matador, and a slightly retarded looking bull, all flanked by a curious crowd of spectator norms, combines to illustrate the spectacle of the bullfight which is now synonymous with Spanish culture across the world. Read more