Artist Jack Vettriano left unable to paint for 'forseeable future' by shoulder injury

The artist has suffered a dislocated shoulder and is facing a ‘long recovery period’

A dislocated shoulder has left the artist looking at a 'long recovery period' (Susannah Ireland/The Independent )

Artist Jack Vettriano – beloved by the public but less of a hit with critics – has suffered an injury that had left him unable to paint for the “foreseeable future”.

The self-taught painter, whose work The Singing Butler became one of the best-selling posters in Britain and sold for £744,000 in 2004, said he had dislocated his right shoulder.

A retrospective of his work at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow last year had sparked a “substantial number of inquiries” about new paintings, he said in a statement.

'The Singing Butler,' one of his best known works (PA)

'The Billy Boys', 1994 (Press image)

However he explained that his injury was preventing him from working.

“The reality is that I am going to be unable to paint in the foreseeable future,” Vettriano said.

“I am undertaking a course of physiotherapy but am facing a long recovery period.

“In the meantime, I would like to thank the public for their continued support and interest.“

The Kelvingrove exhibition ran for five months from September 2013 and attracted more than 123,000 people.

However, writing in The Independent, Anna Burnside gave the show two stars out of five.

She described it as “a disconcerting experience to see so many different Jack Vettriano paintings at one time. In a gallery”.

“We are more used to seeing a couple of his best-known images – the servants with brollies and waltzing couples – in WH Smith, on cards, notelets, mugs and calendars,” she added.

Vettriano in his home (David Sandison)

Vettriano, born in 1951, left school at 16 and did not take up painting full-time until the age of 40.

The artist, who grew up in Methil, Fife, found fame in 1989 when two of his canvases submitted to the Scottish Royal Academy sold on the first day. His work has since featured in exhibitions in Edinburgh, London and New York. He was made an OBE in 2003.

Additional reporting by PA