Injury forces Jack Vettriano to quit painting

Artist Jack Vettriano will give up painting for the foreseeable future following his shoulder injury. Picture: Robert Perry

The 63-year-old has broken his right shoulder, on the arm he paints with, after tripping up and falling over at home.

He has admitted he faces a “long recovery period” after the recent stumble, which has left him facing regular physiotherapy sessions before he can return to work.

Vettriano’s spokeswoman said the artist did not want to provide any further details of the circumstances of the accident.

Vettriano announced the news just weeks after a 12-strong collection of his paintings sold for more than £837,000 at an auction house in Edinburgh.

He appeared in good humour when he attended a photocall at Bonhams, saying he was reluctant to stop picturing himself in the glamorous, fantasy roles in his paintings.

He spoke about how the music of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and even 1980s chart-toppers Spandau Ballet had influenced him, and how he continued to use painting as a means of “escape”, saying he still saw himself as “a dreamer.”

The sale was held just over a year after Vettriano broke the attendance record at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, with his biggest ever retrospective, which attracted more than 123,000 visitors during its 21-week run. It featured many of his best-known works, including The Singing Butler, Bluebird at Bonneville and The Billy Boys.

The artist’s spokeswoman said Vettriano had been dealing with a “substantial number of enquiries” about his work since the exhibition closed.

In a statement announcing his mishap, Vettriano said; “As a result of a recent accident my right shoulder was dislocated and the reality is that I am going to be unable to paint in the foreseeable future.

“I am undertaking a course of physiotherapy but am facing a long recovery period.

“In the meantime I would like to thank the public for their continued support and interest.”

Born as Jack Hoggan in St Andrews in 1951, Vettriano was brought up in the Fife coastal town of Methil.

He left school at 16 to become an apprentice mining engineer and also had a spell as a bingo caller before taking up painting.

After teaching himself by copying artists like Caravaggio and Monet, and taking inspiration from regular visits to Kirkcaldy’s art gallery, he sold his first original pieces in the late 1980s.

The artist famously took up painting when his then girlfriend bought him a set of watercolours for his 21st birthday.