COMPETITIONS IN THIS ISSUE

Jack Vettriano

(Pavilion Books HB £14.99)

Synopsis: In December 2003 the painter Jack Vettriano, a coalminer's son, met his parents off the train from Scotland on his way to collect an OBE. Over the last few years Vettriano has had a meteoric rise to fame - emerging from the unlikely background of the Scottish coalfields, unknown and untutored, he has become Scotland's most successful and controversial contemporary artist. Appearing on posters and cards, mugs and umbrellas, prints of his work outsell Van Gough, Dali and Monet and his paintings have been acquired by celebrities around the world. Vettriano's images have an often mysterious narrative and are a gateway to an alluring yet sinister world. Daylight scenes of heady optimism, painted against backdrops of beaches and racetracks, are counterbalanced by more disquieting canvases of complex night-time liaisons in bars and clubs, bedrooms and ballrooms. Both sexes are clearly styled - the men hard-edged and mysterious, the women seductive and enigmatic. Yet beneath the confident posturing, Vettriano recognizes our inherent human frailty, that there is no victor in the struggle between duplicity and desire. Men and women are ultimately trapped by the machinations of intense love.

There isn't much to say about this book except to praise the extraordinary high quality of the printing, the reproduction of the paintings. I'm not sure I'm altogether blown away by the size of the book - I'd far rather see it in large format, like the Boris books from Paper Tiger, but it's a pleasure to read and to see the beautiful paintings of the "people's painter". I've long admired the beach pictures in the window of the local art dealer, but the book opens a window onto Vettriano's immense talents - there are some pictures dealing with scenes of a sexual nature but it's all carefully observed and doesn't offend. Most of the pictures conjure up a dark, mysterious world capturing the essence of the 1920s - the men look like gangsters, the women like gangsters' molls. Whatever the critics think of Vettriano, this is a wonderful book showcasing a truly stunning artist, and the "people" are right to adore him. Exquisite!. Editor's note: there are loads of online galleries, but there's nothing like owning a book of prints, is there? You can use the Google search box below to look for Jack Vettriano.

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