The coastline of his native Anglesey, in north Wales, was a favourite subject of Roberts, who was educated on the island before undertaking teacher training at Bangor in 1959.

Roberts developed an unusual style of painting in oil and acrylic, his work being notable for muted colours and a strong sense of the weather. He began showing solo while teaching, his first one-man exhibition in Wales being at Holyhead Library in 1974, after which he showed often in the principality. Good examples of his landscapes were included in Welsh Painters Past and Present organised by John Davies Fine Paintings at Upper Swell, Stow-on-the-Wold in 2005.

Roberts was an art teacher at Fairchildes School in the Surrey town of Croydon for nine years, during which time he studied part-time at the College of Art. In 1970, Roberts became head of the art department at Overbury School in Croydon before returning to Wales in 1974.