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Welsh artist Stan Jones will celebrate his forthcoming 80th birthday with a retrospective exhibition of his Dylan Thomas-inspired works at the in Penarth.

The artist, who grew up in Pembrokeshire explains, "The exhibition will be a celebration, a retrospective of the work I've done in the past, and includes 80 pieces from the 50s, 60s and 70s into the present."

Painting by Stan Jones, whose work has been inspired by the words of Dylan Thomas

Stan Jones began painting with inspiration from Dylan Thomas' poetry following a holiday in Cornwall nearly 50 years ago, when his wife was reading a collection of his writing.

He explains: "I had been dabbling in the studio but Thomas' remarks about nature, the sun, moon and stars started me on that angle. I very seriously got going and made an exhibition of about 100 paintings based on his poetry.

"In his work, Dylan Thomas expresses himself well about the manmade world and the natural world, always referring back to those ideas. He was quite spiritual and that shows in his work too. His lines had been ringing in my mind every time I came to paint. I didn't want any of my pieces to go at that first exhibition because I had grown so attached to them."

Jones studied art at Trinity College in Carmarthen and at Cardiff College of Art. He was the former Head of Art at St Cyres School in Penarth, teaching at the school for nearly 30 years.

Stan Jones pictured with some of his art work. Photos courtesy Oriel Washington Gallery.

As well as Dylan Thomas' work, Jones has depicted the poetry of Waldo Williams, a fellow Pembrokeshire man and one of his favourite Welsh language poets.

He adds: "My work is perhaps not quite as lyrically abstract now as it was in the 60s. But even the abstract work included ideas based on nature and farming the land. But there haven't been big changes in my work over the years apart from the use of different media, perhaps."

Stan Jones: A Retrospective is on display at in Penarth, Cardiff from Sunday 4 July to Sunday 25 July.