Summary
RUMPLED, UNSMILING, in a navy corduroy suit and a rectangular pair of pale tortoiseshell rimmed glasses, Jack Vettriano enters the Waterstones store in Edinburgh's George Street with the air of a man who is running out of time. Which he is, of course. He's late, by about 20 minutes or so, and as soon as he arrives is commandeered into posing for an ad hoc photo shoot - "I don't do smiling," he sternly tells the photographer - before being hustled off to autograph a pile of books in preparation for the signing session which will take place in 30 minutes' time. Outside, an ever- increasing queue of Vettriano fans is snaking slowly down George Street, all of them patiently awaiting their moment with Scotland's most famous living artist.
Vettriano's work has been described as "poster art" and "meretricious rubbish", yet he rakes in GBP 500,000 a year in royalties from his posters, postcards and calendars alone, while his original paintings sell for eye-watering sums. His Singing Butler sold for GBP 744,500 in 2004, while Sothebys sold seven of his paintings in April for GBP 358,000. Even a sketch of the Singing Butler can sell for GBP 40,000.See the full content of this document
Extract
And Jack Created Woman
Now Vettriano has turned to publishing. His latest books, Women In Love and A Man's World, take his two favourite subjects - women and, well, women - and attempt to lend some context to the charged and erotic nature of many of his works.
If a love of the female form is prevalent in his painting, it is even more obvious in the flesh. He is charming, flirtatious and sm...See the full content of this document
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