Ian Mackenzie, who had a successful career with South Wales Police, will display more than 20 pieces at Penarth Pier as part of the Penarth Art Fair.
The location holds both fond memories and painful ones for Mr Mackenzie, who grew up in the town and spent much of his childhood along the seafront.
As a child he would have been carried along the sea front and walked onto the Pier holding the very little teddy bear pictured here sat in front of this artwork.
He delivered newspapers in the town in his early teens.
He was the victim of an assault at this location when it housed the infamous Pegs nightclub.
Two older males took a disliking to what he was wearing and physically attacked him, ripping his new romantic punk fashionable clothes and disfiguring his face.
Subsequently withdrawing from many activities and friends, he needed to change his life and following joining a local karate club, this led to a successful career with South Wales Police, and over forty years of karate travelling around the world.
Mr Mackenzie describes his return to the pier as coming full circle.
He will present new works from his storytelling Heritage Series, including a painting titled When We Were Young.
The piece is part of a broader collection that examines Welsh history, featuring artwork about the Aberfan disaster, early life in Cardiff Bay, the Lynette White murder, and the miscarriage of justice and police corruption.
Mr Mackenzie said: “When We Were Young tells the story that everyone wants to tell; their own.”
The Penarth Art Fair will be held at Penarth Pier from Thursday, September 10, to Sunday, September 13.
It opens on Thursday from 6pm to 8pm and on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10am to 5pm.
