When he was an apprentice mining engineer aspiring to be an artist, painter Jack Vettriano often visited Kirkcaldy Galleries. Now, a retrospective focusing on his early career brings together some of his most famous works alongside previously-unseen paintings done in his twenties and thirties. He began painting after receiving a set of paints for his 21st birthday, signing his early work with his birth name, Jack Hoggan, and switching to his mother’s maiden name after moving to London in 2000, and going on to become one of Scotland’s most famous and recognisable painters.
A video interview with Jack, commenting on Fife, its coastline, his paintings and upbringing, can be found on OnFife’s website.
With thanks to OnFife for their kind assistance in arranging Artmag’s attendance at the exhibition’s opening evening on 16th June.
Jack Vettriano at Kirkcaldy Galleries at the opening of the exhibition. Present alongside Artmag, notable figures from the Scottish arts scene, name-checked by Jack, included author Ian Rankin and singer Marti Pellow (see below). 
Ian Rankin, Jack Vettriano and Heather Stuart, Chief Executive OnFife. Image Fife Photo Agency
Jack Vettriano and Marti Pellow. Image Fife Photo Agency
The opening of the exhibition, 16th June. In the left-hand corner is the letter of rejection from Edinburgh College of Art, February 1989.
Jack Vettriano at Kirkcaldy Galleries. Image Neil Hanna/OnFife
