In 1990 he originated a style of illusionary abstract painting based on chiaroscuro, creating the impression of three-dimensional forms and textures on a flat canvas.

In 1956, Williams was obliged to leave school prematurely to help support his family following the death of his father, though Field continued to mentor his former student.

There are similarities to the paintings of Ted Dutch and to mid-twentieth-century School of Paris abstract painters, such as Vieira da Silva and Georges Mathieu.

[6] Beginning in the early 1960s, Williams began to make work with strong geometric shapes influenced by Josef Albers and Mark Rothko.

His compositions of closely spaced lines, geometric shapes and high-keyed, contrasting colours were carefully rendered to create optical illusions and vibrations.

[8] He aimed to create the impression of movement and three-dimensionality on a static, two-dimensional painted surface, and to bring the experience of visual art closer to that of music, unfolding over time.

Ray Thorburn Williams and Walters travelled to Melbourne, Australia, together in 1975, breaking their return journey to visit Sydney to see an exhibition of recent paintings by Bridget Riley at the Coventry Gallery.

[18] The exhibition also featured Gretchen Albrecht, Stephen Bambury, Max Gimblett, Richard Killeen, James Ross, and Ian Scott.

[20][21] In the second half of the 1980s, Williams continued his quest to “articulate light”,[22] using gels and pastes to produce a concrete or tactile support that he then sprayed with thin films of paint.

[24] However, art historian Michael Dunn contrasts Williams’ interest in light and illusion with the emphasis on flatness and objecthood in American abstraction.

Eventually, using a thin film of paint and creating fine shifts in tone and colour, he achieved an almost photographic rendering of effects of light and shadow.

[41] Parallels have been drawn between Williams' attitude to digital technology and the spirit of excitement, hope and innovation that informed his original Op works in the 1960s.

In 2007 he began to devote more time to sculpture, and produced a series of works using tubular modules in bronze, stainless steel, aluminium and concrete, realising them on an increasingly large scale.