Scottish Daily Mail

A STROKE OF GENIUS: MEET THE ARTIST OF INVERNESS

Life in the Highlands is a canvas for Caley No 1 Fon Williams:

- By ALASDAIR FRASER

WHEN a goalkeeper makes an exhibition of himself, it usually spells trouble for his team. Not in the case of Owain Fon Williams. Where your average footballer might spend his free time golfing, playing snooker or on Playstatio­n, t he Inverness Caley Thistle No 1 prefers to pick up the palette and paint.

So talented is he, in fact, that a collection of his original oil paintings is to be showcased at a three-month gallery exhibition in his native Wales next summer.

And what started as a peaceful hobby in fine arts for the 28-year- old Welsh i nternation­al is f ast becoming a parallel career.

Accomplish­ed with the brushes as a boy, a few of his early works still adorn the walls of his parents’ home in Penygroes village in rural Wales. But a year ago, seeking constructi­ve use of rest time away from football, he decided to return to the canvas.

Much to his surprise, two of his first works recently sold for £450 each in just 10 days at Cardiff’s Kooywood Gallery, where he featured in a young-talent exhibition.

Now the renowned Betws-y- Coed Gallery in Gwynedd has confirmed it will dedicate next June to a Fon Williams show inspired by his grandfathe­r Richard Henry Williams’ working life in the old slate quarries.

It promises to be quite a summer for the ex-Tranmere Rovers keeper, who also hopes to serve as Wayne Hennessey’s understudy at France 2016 for Chris Coleman’s Welsh wonders.

‘I’ve always been into painting and drawing but have never taken myself too seriously,’ said Fon Williams. ‘About a year ago, I really started painting properly again with the oils.

‘As a footballer, you tend to have a lot of spare time on your hands but you’re tired, so you can’t do an awful lot. I decided first of all to learn the guitar. When I cracked that, I realised I needed to get back into my art again.

‘ I’m not one f or sitting around watching telly or playing the X-Box. I want to better myself and keep my mind occupied.

‘The first one I did was a Highland bull, not imagining for a minute I’d soon be moving up to the Scottish Highlands! Then I took it down to

the local village where I’m from in Nantlle Valley.

‘I went into the framing shop there and the owner, Meic Roberts, told me about a friend he’d lost a few years ago, Ifor Pritchard, a famous Welsh painter. Pritchard was a goalkeeper as well but turned down Swansea City in his youth to become an artist.

‘His subject matter was the quarrymen. These days, you won’t get one of his works for less than £3,000.

‘Meic suggested I have a go at doing a collection of the quarrymen in my own style, as where I’m from lies right among the old slate quarries. It’s all about the workers and their day-to- day life, the humour and the brotherhoo­d, and I find it fascinatin­g.

‘A f ew months ago, I started my collection and, luckily, I’ve now got a full exhibition coming up at the end of the season.

‘Two weeks ago, I sold my first two from the collection in a gallery in Cardiff. I was amazed they went in 10 days but was also really sad to see them go.’

Fon Williams feels like he has found a spiritual home in the Highlands since joining Inverness in July.

‘Coming up here, it feels like you’re out of things — you have a clear mind. That’s great for me. I can relax, take the dog for a walk and, while I’m out, an idea will come into my head that I can put on canvas. It’s wonderful.

‘I haven’t spoken much about it with the other players. We all have our own interests. I just see it as a way of stepping out of football, which can be quite demanding and mentally draining. I go into my own little world painting and forget about things.’

Fon Williams takes his subject matter seriously and is big on research to ensure historical accuracy.

‘It has to be right,’ he said. ‘I don’t want someone coming up and saying: “It wasn’t like that in the quarries.” They were active from the late 1800s right through to the late 1970s, early 80s. The little aspects of day-to- day life and work are important to me.

‘My grandad worked in one from when he was 13. You couldn’t imagine a 13-year-old nowadays being asked to do that kind of hard labour. Just a piece of rope kept them harnessed above a massive drop. One little slip and they were gone.

‘They used gunpowder to break the rock. My grandad, I remember, had these massive hands, all scarred, and one particular scar held a story. He’d been putting gunpowder into the rock and got his hand caught in some wire. He actually had to rip it away to escape the explosion. Back then, men were men. That’s what I’m trying to get across. The f amily connection makes it really important to me.’

As for his future in art and f ootball, he added: ‘Football’s a funny game. You don’t know when your last match will be. Whatever I do, I’m sure I’ll still be painting after football. ‘ Reaching t he Euros and r epresentin­g my country would be amazing because I’m a very proud Welshman. ‘So I’m not pressuring myself to do a certain number of paintings. I’m embracing it but, for now, football still comes first.’

As a footballer, you tend to have a lot of spare time on your hands. I’m not one for watching telly or playing the X-Box. I want to keep my mind occupied

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 ??  ?? Good with his hands: Inverness No 1 Fon Williams hard at work
Big talent: Owain with his Highland bull and (below) quarrymen The day job: Fon Williams finds life in the Highlands to be a huge inspiratio­n
Good with his hands: Inverness No 1 Fon Williams hard at work Big talent: Owain with his Highland bull and (below) quarrymen The day job: Fon Williams finds life in the Highlands to be a huge inspiratio­n

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