He left school at 16 and later became an apprentice mining engineer. Vettriano did not take up painting as a hobby until the 1970s, when a girlfriend bought him a set of watercolours for his 21st birthday.
Vettriano's breakthrough year was 1988, when he felt ready to display his paintings in public and submitted two canvases for the Royal Scottish Academy annual show.
Further successful exhibitions followed in London, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, New York and Johannesburgh. His paintings are reminiscent of the film noir genre, often with romantic or nude themes.
