New work on show by Welsh artist Claudia Williams

Leading artist Claudia Williams has said she will never tire of painting as she prepares to unveil her latest work to the public.

A collection of artworks by the 83-year-old, from Pembrokeshire, is due to go on show at the Martin Tinney Gallery in Cardiff on Wednesday.

They capture intimate observations of family and friends at home and at one of her most beloved spots, Tenby beach.

It comes a year after her husband, painter Gwilym Prichard, died.

All have been crafted in her Tenby home studio during what has marked a difficult time for the artist since the renowned landscape painter died in June 2015.

'Wonderful life together'

Ms Williams said: "We had a long partnership and a wonderful life together and I'm very grateful for that, but it is quite a thing to lose a partner.

"I find if I busy myself with painting, it's the best thing for me as I am not sitting there thinking.

"These artworks have all been produced in the past year.

"I work quite quickly and I have always taken my inspiration from watching people."

Claudia Williams, pictured with husband Gwilym Prichard

Several of the paintings in the new collection feature women brushing their hair or having their hair styled in intimate observational scenes.

"I do find people fascinating and I never get tired of painting people in different attitudes and working with different colour schemes," said Ms Williams.

"I don't really see myself as prolific and I consider myself a retired person but I can't see a day in the future when I don't paint."

Her works usually reflect what she sees and captures her children and grandchildren on family gatherings and seaside trips.

A piece titled At the Hairdressers

Many of the new paintings also feature bold patterns and textured backdrops, a fascination Ms Williams has had since her schooldays.

Her love of drawing emerged as a young child and she attended the Chelsea School of Art at 16 where her skills won her a scholarship.

In 1954, she moved to north Wales and met Mr Prichard, who once claimed he had no interest in painting and only took it up as a means to impress her.

In the early 1980s they travelled through Europe together, settling in France in 1985, where they lived for 15 years and where her work is also highly regarded.

Work showing a girl dressing

Ms Williams was elected to the Royal Cambrian Academy in 1979 and she is an Honorary Fellow of Bangor University.

In 1995, she was awarded the Silver Medal by the Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters in Paris, in recognition of her contribution to the arts in France. She returned to live in Wales in 2000.

A hugely popular retrospective was held at the National Library of Wales in 2000, and an exhibition of her powerful Tryweryn paintings was shown there in 2010.

The current show features approximately 20 new paintings and drawings and runs until 2 July.