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Jack Vettriano Art Prints and Posters
Awarded the OBE by the Queen in 2004, Jack Vettriano, who was born in 1951, rose from humble beginnings as a coal-mining engineer in the Scottish seaside town of Fife, to become Britain's most popular narrative painter. Having not received any formal training, the self-taught painter began at 21, when his girlfriend at the time gave him a box of paints. After being inspired by a collection of paintings in his local Kirkcaldy Museum, he later on started imitating the masterpieces of Caravaggio and Monet, as well as the model poses from the Littlewoods' clothing catalogues.
In 1988, he committed to becoming an artist full-time with the Royal Scottish Academy. His realist style and seductively-charged paintings were met with immediate enthusiasm. Ever since, Jack Vettriano has enjoyed a meteoric rise. All the paintings from his first exhibition in New York sold out within minutes of the opening.
A music video by Scottish band Saint Jude's Infirmary, shot on Portobello Beach in Edinburgh, inspired the landscape of The Singing Butler, Vettriano's most famous work to date. Coincidentally, the artist also made a cameo appearance in the video!
Vettriano has been quoted as saying, “I've set the scene, you build the story”, encouraging viewers to interpret the meaning behind his paintings. The dramatic scenarios in his work could very well be based on the artist's own life – when Vettriano was younger, much like the tuxedoed men in his paintings, he seduced women with his fake Monets. Like stills from 1940s film noir, his paintings take audiences on a journey laced with romance, suspense and mystery. In today's world, such escapism is gladly welcomed.
Everyone from the rich and famous to discerning private collectors now eagerly await new works by this most important of contemporary Scottish painters. Demand is now apparently so high, that to be the lucky owner of one of his highly prized original paintings means a long wait – over 200 people are in the queue for his works. Ardent fans include Madonna, Sir Alex Ferguson, composer Tim Rice and Hollywood bad boy actor Jack Nicholson.
Forging a unique place for himself amongst British artists, Jack Vettriano currently divides his time between his studio in London and homes in Kirkcaldy and Nice, France.
