Malcolm Ludvigsen - Winter Landscapes, Café 68 in Gillygate, York, until February 28 (From York Press)

Malcolm Ludvigsen - Winter Landscapes, Café 68 in Gillygate, York, until February 28

2:54pm Friday 2nd December 2011 in Exhibitions

MALCOLM Ludvigsen, the York artist for all seasons, is devoting his new exhibition entirely to winter landscapes. So much so, he has given that wintry title to his snow show at Café 68 in Gillygate.

“As you may have noticed, last winter was a good one for snow,” says Malcolm, who likes to work “on the spot” or in the plein-air mode as art courses would call it.

“I made the most of it by painting lots of snowscapes, mostly on Walmgate Stray, which is just up the road from where I live, but also in the Yorkshire Wolds, especially when the roads weren’t blocked.”

Although many of the oil paintings are in place already, the exhibition will start officially on Thursday with an open preview from 7pm to 11pm. “Everybody is welcome. Do come along and bring your friends as it’s also a party to celebrate the café’s first birthday and there’ll be complimentary tasters from their food and drink menu,” says Malcolm.

Most of the works on show have never been exhibited before. “That’s mainly because nobody wanted to be reminded of the harsh winter,” explains Malcolm. “They certainly weren’t easy to paint in the cold weather, especially as I find it impossible to paint wearing gloves. I think one of the Scottish colourists once said that ‘the more difficult the conditions, the better the painting’, in which case these must be good paintings.”

Malcolm equally enjoys painting bleak winter seascapes, especially at Bridlington. “My favourite painting spot used to be the ‘artwork’ at the end of the promenade: a coloured metal construction, a bit like a children’s playground, and with great views over the beach.

“I was paintings there a few weeks ago, perched on the end of the ‘artwork’ with easel and canvas, when a voice called out, ‘Hey, you can’t paint there; can’t you see it’s an artwork you’re standing on?’. As the voice belonged to an official-looking person, I was obliged to pack up and paint elsewhere. Pity, because it’s a good place to paint from.”

Nevertheless, the exhibition does feature “bleak, grey, miserable” works painted from the Brid artwork before Malcolm was shown the red card. “Actually, the bleaker and greyer they are, the more popular they seem to be – and the better they sell, particularly in the United States, where they seem to like good old Yorkshire drabness.”

Winter Landscapes will run through the winter months until mid-February; opening hours are 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.

In addition, Malcolm will be participating in the Whitestone Gallery Christmas exhibition at St Peter’s School from December 10 to 16.

Through his website, malcolmludvigsen.org.uk, he is holding a Christmas sale of his 16 by 12-inch oil sketches, each priced at £85, including a mount. “My sketches are created in the spirit of pure Yorkshire meanness,” says Malcolm. “Whenever I complete a painting, in the countryside or on the beach, I don't like wasting the scrap paint on my palette, so I tend to use it up by doing a quick sketch. These sometimes turn out better than the painting itself.”

A sale of his life drawings is running too, each costing £15. “Feel free to call in at my studio between now and Christmas to have a rummage through my collection of sketches and drawings,” says Malcolm, whose address can be found on his website.