Ties That Bind, 1995, Jack Vettriano. Oil on canvas.
With permission from the artist’s estate.

Commissioned from my original pitch in 2025 by international superstar Alan Cumming, I’m excited to present this intimate and exploratory drama about Scotland’s bestselling artist for Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s 2027 Season.

I first discovered Jack Vettriano’s paintings, not hanging in a gallery, but on the walls of my Gran’s little Clydebank council house, his framed prints and pages from calendars proudly displayed between family photos.

But why weren’t Vettriano’s paintings in my local art museum, or better yet, The National Gallery? Why, in high school art, was I dissuaded from studying this popular contemporary Scottish artist—instead, steered towards the old masters and old familiars? Could it be because Vettriano himself never had an art teacher? That, to the art world, he was an outsider, a former miner from Fife? Or was there conflict with the artist’s often sexually charged creations?

Despite his absence from galleries, we’ve been fortunate to see Vettriano’s paintings in special exhibitions in the Kelvingrove, on our screens in documentaries and music videos, and even fifty feet tall on the wall of a Glasgow beer garden. Now, with help from the team at PFT, Carolyn Osborne at the Jack Vettriano Estate, and video designer Heather Scott, we’re aspiring to shine a spotlight on the artist, his work, and the conflicts he faced in his lifetime, while bringing the romantic fantasy and escapism of his paintings to life.

JACK VETTRIANO CAN’T PAINT! sees its world premiere at Pitlochry Festival Theatre as part of the upcoming 2027 Season. Written by Eden McIntyre.