Born in Fife, Scotland in 1951, Jack Vettriano left school at sixteen to become a mining engineer. For his twenty-first birthday, a girlfriend gave him a set of watercolour paints and, from then on, he spent much of his spare time teaching himself to paint. The triggering factor to an exceptional carrer.

Vettriano‘s breakthrough year was 1989, when he felt ready to display his paintings in public and submitted two canvases for the Royal Scottish Academy annual show. Both paintings sold on the first day and Vettriano was approached by several galleries who wanted to sell his other work. He moved to Edinburgh, changing his name to Vettriano and became the Edwardian Dandy (“brogues, braces, long hair; the only thing missing was the cane.”) he depicts in his paintings. He masterfully paints a period ruled by the reign of style, society life, and sexual relationships.

What I enjoy the most inVettriano’s artworks is obviously his impressive attention to detail: the elegance (the suits, the poet hats, the dresses, the coats…) and the expression of his characters. Plus, I must admit he is really good at painting “soft porn” situation!

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