His gift for drawing was apparent from early on and, as a part-time student for four years from 1928, Roberts took classes at Swansea Art School under William Grant Murray.
[2] Roberts found inspiration in the local community, painting industrial workers and farmers, and domestic scenes of family life.
Some of Roberts' most striking works are of Welsh landscapes and he is now widely acknowledged as one of Wales's modern masters.
In 1962, Roberts won the Byng-Stamper Prize for landscape painting, judged by Sir Kenneth Clark, for Farm at Cimla which was acquired by the National Museum of Wales.
[3] Roberts died in Neath, where his 24 charcoal drawings of the Stations of the Cross may be seen in St David's Church.