Jack Vettriano is one of the UK's most popular, yet controversial, contemporary artists. His original paintings have achieved worldwide acclaim & cultivated a global following, producing sell-out solo exhibitions in Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong, and New York.Born in Fife, Scotland in 1951, Vettriano left school at sixteen to become a mining engineer. For his twenty-first birthday he was given a set of water paints by his then girlfriend - which encouraged him to take up painting as a hobby. From that point on, Jack spent much of his spare time teaching himself to paint. His career as an artist took flight when his work was greeted with enthusiasm following his successful submissions into the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1990. He is now known for his film noir-style, erotic paintings of men and women. His work employs a pared-down realism reminiscent of Edward Hopper, often featuring smooth brushwork and lonely interior settings where his subjects appear disconnected from their environment and each other.