Culture Minister Alun Pugh was among those at the launch

The Port Talbot-born painter, 68, admits that he has "a love-hate relationship" with the old country.

He has gained worldwide recognition and is said to be Wales' richest artist, with an estimated �92m fortune.

He has homes in France, Riyadh and Monaco, but said he still missed Wales, and particularly Cardiff and Llanelli.

Speaking at the launch of his first collection of reproductions at the Senedd, the home of the Welsh assembly in Cardiff Bay, Vicari said: "Dylan Thomas was right when he said, 'Swansea is the graveyard of ambition'."

"What he meant was, that when you come here, it's cosy, warm... after four or five days I don't want to go, I'm so happy - this is what he (Thomas) meant."

Everything you see as a child inspires you Andrew Vicari

Vicari joked he remembered Wales "everyday... the way that I hate the place".

The collection will be produced by Vicari Publishing, a company based in the Rhondda.

Vicari was full of praise for his fellow Welsh artists, but he said they were not given enough "direction".

"There are a lot of artists here... They're genuine artists, young artists, but they have no direction.

"What you need is someone, some figure... who can really pick art with his own taste," he explained.

"You've got to get somebody with direction, if you can produce all this in Cardiff Bay you can do it with pictures and paintings," he added.

'Inspired'

Vicari's paintings drew the crowds in the Senedd in Cardiff Bay

Vicari attended Neath Grammar School for Boys, and then Swansea School of Art and first tasted success at the National Eisteddfod.

He has maintained strong links with Wales, and is the vice-president of the Neath male voice choir, and is involved in fundraising for the final stages of the restoration of St David's Cathedral in Pembrokeshire.

Although the majority of Vicari's paintings do not display any obvious Welsh influence, he maintains he is "inspired" by the country of his birth.

"Everything you see as a child inspires you," he said.

Vicari's collection, 'A Retrospective' is available to view at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, from 4-12 October.