Sunset | The Daily Norm

Jan 27

Winter Weekend in Ibiza | Part 2: Sunrise and Sunset

You can’t beat a good view, and whenever I go away anywhere, whether it be for a week or just a day, I make a point of finding one, not least from my hotel room. For some, a room in a hotel is just somewhere to shut their eyes and recuperate before exploring the outside. For me, it is an instrumental part of the travelling process, where I can rest and contemplate the sights I have seen around me, where I can write and sketch, and where I can soak in bubbles or take a long shower. Best of all, it is where I can enjoy a good view for long periods at a time, without the self-consciousness that I may be lingering too long in a restaurant or stealing the view from someone else.

Sunrise

On my weekend in Ibiza, the Hotel Ocean Drive did not disappoint, placing me and my partner on the third floor from where a beautiful view across the Marina Botafoch and over to the stunning hill-top Dalt Vila (old town) could be enjoyed. This combination of rocky outline coupled with the hilly topography which surrounds the city, together with the great watery expanse of the port and the various small marinas located within it meant for a stunning show at all times of the day, but no more so than at sunrise and sunset, when the colours turned from blue to a ripening pink, and utter calm descended across the landscape.

Sunset

This post is devoted to those moments, when shades of raspberry and peach and soft primrose yellow filled my camera lens, and added clarity to the dark outline of the city against a pastel-coloured sky. As I am unable to choose which of sunset or sunrise was my favourite, I have included both. For they were both manifestations of the most perfect of views; a vista which made my first experience of Ibiza unforgettable.

A room with a view

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.

Dec 3

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Mallorca Moments: Sunset over the Docks

Another day in Palma, another sunset. And this one was a true spectacle. It started with a walk down to the marina. The port of Palma is so big that it fills the entire bay of the city, yet it seems to be so impenetrable, fringed as it is with gates and cordons and goodness knows what. Yet unperturbed, Dominik and I have set ourselves the challenge of exploring as much of it as we can. Thus walking down what appeared to be a rather industrial road leading to what must be the main docks and boat repair industry, we found ourselves exploring yet another area of the port which we hadn’t found before, ending up at a beautiful café out on the harbour arm overlooking the undisputed icon of the city: the Cathedral.

There we had our fill of taking industrial photos of the machinery in the port and the workers retreating from the port back to the city at sundown (it reminded me a little of the factory paintings of the North of England by Lowry, although the scenery was somewhat more beautiful…) before heading back to the less industrialised pleasure port where huge shiny yachts rest gracefully by the harbour edge. It was there that ultimately, as the sun plummeted to its lowest visible point, we bore witness to the most stunning sunset which, when interspersed with the clouds scattered across the horizon, made for an incredibly sumptuous visual feast. And as is so often the case with sunsets over the coast, the interplay with the still waters of the marina was incredible. I have never seen ripples so lavishly shot through with rich tones of orange and blue.

So excuse me if I bore you with post after post of these natural spectacles, but with sunsets as good as these, what other aesthetic fix could you possibly need?

Nov 27

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Discovering Palma: Waterfront Walk

Asides from the wall to wall sunshine, the resonance of a new language filling the air, the smells of garlic and pimenton wafting throughout the streets, and the injection of a new culture, the best thing about moving to a new town (and indeed country) is discovering it. Despite a few previous visits to Palma, its maze of streets, particularly in the old town, remain excitingly unknown, and ever since we arrived in the city some 10 days ago, we have been constantly on the move discovering.

A recent stroll took us through the quaint narrow shopping streets of central Palma, beyond the imposing cathedral and out onto the waterfront where the majority of these photos were taken. They capture a time of late afternoon, when people were out sharing our pleasure of strolling amongst long winter shadows and still warm autumn sunshine, taking an afternoon coffee or something stronger in the sidewalk cafes, and heading down to the water’s edge where the sun danced languidly atop of the crests of meandering ripples.

From the waterside walk into the marina itself, we strolled amidst the industrialised port of Palma, where huge yachts are being covered in plastic ready for their winter makeover, and beside the tightly cordoned Royal Yacht club, where only the most devoted of socialite sailors remain in the quiet season, drinking cocktails on an empty veranda with views of the sun setting over the boat-filled marina. There we bore witness to the most sensational of light effects, as the setting sun radiated a golden hue which bounced and sparkled over a still blue marina and upon the shiny surfaces of the yachts and liners which fringe Palma’s waterfront.

This view was certainly one discovery which we will quite happily enjoy over and over.

Nov 25

Mallorca Moments: Terrace Sunset

Regular readers of The Daily Norm will know that I love very little more than a sunset (or indeed a sun rise – although red sky in the morning is always something of a shepherds warning so it is perhaps better to do without). And of course at this time of year you can experience some of the best. Now combine the sunset and the time of the year with my new relocation to Palma de Mallorca’s faultlessly beautiful old town and you have a truly magical combination. It is that magic which is very much captured in these photos, taken from the roof terrace of my new pied-à-terre.

Benefitting from a location in the heart of the old town, with a view directly onto the side of Palma’s most famous monument, La Seu cathedral, a slice of the Mediterranean Sea and a panoply of beautiful old rooftops, our roof terrace makes for an incredible place to watch the changing effects of light on sky, as these photos demonstrate. But for now I can do little better than to let you take a look. For when the beauty and colours of nature look this good, words will always be an insufficient substitute. Suffice to say I’m so looking forward to bringing you more views from the terrace throughout the next year and beyond.

Sep 26

Sunset on Tuscany

Just as this week of Tuscany posts began with an essay on a sensational sunny morning, when the sun was slowly rising over the calmest of seas, so now it ends with the most sumptuous of sunsets, as that round ball of fire on which we are all so inherently reliant made its 180 degree course through our northern hemisphere before dropping gracefully beyond the reach of the equator to pursue a further path on the other side of the world.

As the Tuscan coastline universally faces west, wherever you are on that beautiful stretch of pine tree lined coast, you are guaranteed to be treated to the most stunning of sunsets, whatever the time of the year. Over just a short weekend in Tuscany, we witnessed three incredible shows, and with each the panoply of colours striding through the sky seemed to increase. From a lemon yellow deepening through to mango, when the sun eventually plunged beneath the horizon, the sky was shot with the most exquisite shades of rose and raspberry ripple so that, by the time night descended, the sky had danced its way through a cabaret of colours, inspiring fruit filled cocktails and artists aplenty in its wake.

But just as the sun had to set, a little earlier each day, so too did the time have to set on our little trip to Tuscany. For the nature of a weekend is the inevitable onset of work the following Monday, and with this damned thought in mind, we made our long way back, besides a fading purple sky, along the dark winding road to Pisa.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 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.

Aug 27

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Out and about with my iPhone – Part III

It’s that time of the year again, when The Daily Norm shifts the focus to the ordinary things in life – the “norms” of life if you will – which are often ignored by day, but look pretty spectacular when captured on camera. It’s a point I’ve made before in my previous “Out and about” posts, but the real benefit of the improvement of mobile phone camera technology is that wherever you are whatever you are doing, it becomes possible, upon seeing something surprising, or spotting something mundane which suddenly, out of the blue, appears beautiful, to capture that shot for prosperity. These often make the best photos of all – uncontrived, original, surprising.

As before, I’m posting a few shots of miscellaneous sights which, over the last few months, I have encountered while living the humdrum of an otherwise normal life. This part of the “Out and about” collection concentrates mainly on clouds, skies and a good few flowers to boot. Enjoy.

: Clouds mount over Clapham Common pond

: Light shines through a vase of gladioli

: Red hot pokers at Glyndebourne

: My white gazpacho

: Silhouette at the National Gallery

: Clouds overlaid with a silhouette of my blinds

: Iconic London – red bus, St Paul’s and the sun reflecting off a skyscraper

: Another iconic view of London

: Wafer thin gladioli

: Cemetery at Lambeth Palace

: London’s Houses of Parliament

: A rather phallic sculpture at Chelsea’s Physic Gardens

: Beautiful barlotti beans

: Sunset over Clapham Common

: Daisies in Regent’s Park (I love the lone black one on the right)

: This condom poster tickled me in Paris

: Tennis court lights up the darkness in Clapham

: Multi-coloured flowers brighten up London’s parks

: My paints!

: Sky reflected in my coffee table

: Ducklings in Wandsworth Common

: This stunning 1920s fox fur was found in my partner’s grandmother’s closet

: More glorious gladioli

© 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.

Out and about with my iPhone – Part I (normsonline.wordpress.com)
Out and about with my iPhone – Part II (normsonline.wordpress.com)
My urban balcony garden (normsonline.wordpress.com)

Jul 15

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Sunday Supplement ITALIA – Cityscape IV: Rome

It’s ITALIA Season on the Daily Norm, and after a week of Norms’ adventures down the boot of Italy, and a showcase of my photos of the glorious country, it’s time to feature another of my paintings. I haven’t devoted nearly as much canvas space to Italy as I have to Spain or Paris for example. And now I come to think about it, that really should change. There is frankly so much beauty to inspire me that I could paint Italy for the rest of my life. Perhaps that’s why I have never really begun.

However one work which I did paint in homage to Italy was a simple reflection of Rome’s Forum Romano, against a rich orange and pink sunset. You can just about see St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican in the background. The painting formed part of my “Cityscape” series which I painted back in 2007 when I was trying to teach myself how to master oil paints, having been painting for so many years in acrylics. Despite being only “studies”, the resulting collection was so popular that I transformed part of it into limited edition prints back in 2008.

Anyway, without further ado I give you Rome, in sultry silhouette.

© 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.