Product Description

Jack is one of the UK's most popular, and yet most controversial, contemporary artists. His pictures sell for a record amount of money, the paintings in his exhibitions are always sold out before the opening and 'The Singing Butler' made history for being the most expensive painting by a Scottish living artist ever to be sold at auction. (And surely the same painting is one of the world's most replicated fine art images?)Here, for the first time, we get up close and personal with Jack in the studio. We see how he works in his studios in Scotland, London and Nice and we see how these locations influence his paintings. The book also includes brand new paintings never before seen. We analyse Jack's own cultural influences and the influences his work has come to have on popular culture in turn.With outstanding and revealing photograph by Jillian Edelstein and a foreword from friend and fellow son of Fife, author Ian Rankin, this is a book to delight Jack Vettriano's fans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39168 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

About the Author
Jack Vettriano lives in Nice, Fife and London.

Customer Reviews

Through the keyhole for Jack fans
Sorry for gushing but I'm a real fan of Jack Vettriano's work - I love the story-telling within each piece and the glamorous world he paints. This book, I admit isn't all about the paintings - it is actually a look at the artist - how he creates the work and his inspirations. So you get to see into his house, his books and the models he paints. I'm quite nosy and this is a classy piece of "through the keyhole" work. You get to see the artist in his natural surroundings. Plus I love the new paintings.

Good book with some flaws
I really liked this book, the pictures are great quality and being able to see Vetrianos studies was interesting. However as another reviewer said you don't actually get to see or read much about how the artist works other than some brief talk of music and inspiration, even with these small flaws it's still a book worth reading and one I come back to often for inspiration myself.

Vettriano Disappoints
Vettriano Disappoints.


This book has been long awaited by Vettriano fans; it was due out last year. The question is, was it worth the wait and does it live up to expectations?

The sub title: ‘Studio Life’ gives the content away. The book sets out to show Jack Vettriano in his studio with some of his many models. However, we are also given a tour around Vettriano’s studio, all three of them, as well as his various apartments. Oddly, being a book on ‘Studio Life’, we are shown very little of Vettriano’s working methods. In fact, all we are really shown are photographs of Vettriano taking photographs as well as some of the end results. Only one photograph shows us his work in progress and, as this is in the very early stages of that work, it will mean little to most.

Photographs there are plenty of, however, many are wasted space: just how many photographs of jack Vettriano’s palette do we really need? How many close ups of his ‘fag ends’ is the reader interested in? Is anyone really interested in a close up of Jack Vettriano’s paint-spattered shirt?

Considering the fact that this is primarily an art book dedicated to one of Britain’s leading modern-day painters, it is disappointing to find only twenty-nine reproductions of his paintings and, of those, only about three are new. On this level, therefore, the book disappoints. If you are a died-in-the-wool Vettriano aficionados then you may be able to overlook the books shortcomings. If, as are many, you are looking for a book of Vettriano’s paintings then you will be certainly disappointed. If, attracted by the sub title: ‘Studio Life’, you think you are going to have a feast of pictures showing Jack Vettriano’s working methods then you too will be sadly disappointed. If you are new to Vettriano and have nothing else, then this may well whet your appetite.