Life is a canvas for Inverness goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams, whose original oil paintings are to be exhibited in a top gallery

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Inverness goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams paints in his spare time
A collection of his oil paintings are to be showcased in a gallery in Wales
He is creating a collection based on the slate quarries of his home town
On the pitch, Fon Williams hopes to play for Wales at Euro 2016 next year

By Alasdair Fraser For The Scottish Daily Mail

Published: 18:35 EST, 24 September 2015 | Updated: 18:53 EST, 24 September 2015

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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, the Inverness Caledonian Thistle No 1 prefers to pick up the palette and paints.

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.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams likes to paint in his time away from the pitch

And what started as a peaceful hobby in fine arts for the 28-year-old Welsh international is fast 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 north-west 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.

Fon Williams, pictured in action against Celtic earlier this season, is not one to play X-Box or Playstation

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.

Fon Williams recently sold two of his works for £450 and has an exhibition coming up in Wales next summer

“I’m not one for 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.

Fon Williams puts the finishing touches to one of his most recent pieces, detailing Welsh quarrymen

‘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 few 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.’

The first few pieces of Fon Williams' 'Quarry Men' collection was recently displayed at Kooywood Art Gallery

Fon Williams feels like he’s 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 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 tend to forget about things.’

Goalkeeper Fon Williams feels like he’s found a spiritual home in the Highlands since joining Inverness in July

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

‘It has to be right. 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.

On the pitch, Fon Williams hopes to represent Wales at the European Championships in France next summer

‘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 family connection makes it really important to me.’

As for his future in art and football, 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 the Euros and representing 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.’