There will be tears from some, and sighs of relief from others as the news has broken that Jack Vettriano may never paint again, the Independent reports.

The man behind Britain’s best-selling image of 2012, The Singing Butler (1992), has announced that he has dislocated his shoulder, throwing doubts on his future as an artist.

Jack Vetrianno The Singing Butler (1992)
Photo: via Jack Vettriano’s Facebook Page

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

Jack Vettriano, Afternoon Reverie (2012)
Photo: Jack Vettriano’s Facebook page

Self-taught Vettriano is known for dividing the public and critics: much beloved by the former and treated with some contempt by the latter.

His retrospective, held at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow in 2013-14, attracted 123,000 visitors yet was slated in the Independent and other UK press. He has received many inquiries from his supportive fan-base regarding new work since the show, which he now may not ever be able to fulfill.

Vettriano found fame after submitting two works to the Scottish Academy in 1989, both of which sold on the first day. Following that, The Singing Butler (1992) sold for £744,000 at auction in 2004, which is no small achievement for someone who left school at 16 and didn’t become a professional artist until he was 40.