After two sell-out shows with us at Ffin y Parc, Malcolm returns with a collection of 68 new works. Painted over the course of a year, they examine and explore his fascination and his unique connection with the landscape of North Wales.
North Wales and Snowdonia have long been a lure for artists, drawn here by the power and grandeur of the wilderness. Barren crags, steep green valleys, cascading water and capricious weather make for a potent mix that is powerful, dramatic and emotional. While Malcom’s work is alive to all the turbulent drama that the landscape suggests, he likes to remain slightly detached from it. He does not let it overwhelm him – he watches, makes observations… He knows how the shadows slither over the rocks; how the fields and woods gradually change colour through the year; and how there is both stillness and a constant restlessness in the landscape and the air. As a result, the finished work has a meditative quality.
His rigorous technique, his precision, and the clarity of his detail encourage us not just to feel, but to engage with the landscapes he paints, and to think about our place in it, the way we have shaped it, and the responsibility we have to preserve it. It is, after all, unique and priceless. At once immensely powerful and fragile! His combination of feeling and intellect, of immersion and detachment are part of what makes his work so popular, and so loved.