Last week Jack Vettriano came back to the place in Kirkcaldy which he credits with kick starting his career.  He honoured a commitment he had made to select a single work of art from the 25^th Anniversary Fife Art exhibition at Kirkcaldy Museum & Art Gallery.  He chose a photograph entitled “Winter on the Links – Burntisland” by Henry Heggie who came along to the Museum last Saturday (22^nd November) to meet Jack and to receive his prize.  

Jack Vettriano said “This work stood out from the rest.  I like the tonal quality of the image with the touch of colour in the two figures in the foreground and the greyed out snowy background.  I’m very pleased to be involved again with Fife Art.  Contrary to popular belief, people think my art career started at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1988 but it started here in Kirkcaldy when I won the Shell-sponsored Fife Art for the first time in 1984.  It gave me the confidence to keep going.  Shell are to be congratulated for their 25 years of sponsorship which has given other people the same opportunity.”

Henry Heggie, who was born in East Wemyss and lives in Burntisland, said that when the Museum rang up to tell him he had won he thought it was a wind up, a joke being played by one of his friends.

 “I’ve always been interested in photography even as a child.  I pestered and pestered and eventually my aunt bought me my first camera when I was 12.”  When asked what he would do with the £500 prize money he said “I’ll buy a new camera to replace the one I broke on holiday this year.”

Also at Saturday’s presentation was Duncan Reijnen, Senior Process Engineer at Shell’s Fife NGL Plant, who said  “I’d like to thank Jack, on behalf of Shell and all Fife’s amateur artists, for giving up his valuable time, both to select the winning work and to come along today to present the award to Henry.”