ONE of Scotland's most popular artists is expecting to break attendance records with the biggest show in his 20-year career.

Jack Vettriano, whose popular images have sold millions of copies as prints worldwide, is to hold his first, and he says his last, major retrospective, featuring more than 100 paintings, including his best known images The Singing Butler, Dance Me To The End of Love and The Weight.

Vettriano acknowledged that the retrospective, which will run at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow from September 21 until February 23 next year, could provide more ammunition for his critics, who have in the past criticised his technique and subject matter.

He said: "I doubt many critics have ever been to an exhibition of mine, to tell you the truth and I think they will go to this, because it is national, and I think I will get a lot of flak.

"But what I hope happens is that we break all attendance records, and I don't see why we can't.

"People will come far and wide, because there won't be another chance for them, or for me."

Kelvingrove's record was set by the Glasgow Boys show in 2010, which attracted more than 120,000 visitors as well as wide critical acclaim.

Vettriano added: "I know for every critic out there, there are probably two million fans. So - should I care? I think the only difference with them is that they have a platform and the public don't."

The artist said Kelvingrove's art collection had long been an inspiration, along with Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery.

"I would visit regularly and the curators must have thought: 'Who is that bampot', because I used to get really close to the paintings, to try and see how they do it," he said.

"I never made notes or anything, I just kept it all in my head. I was able to manage to remember those things OK, and see how [the artists] managed to get things done. But the whole grandeur of Kelvingrove used to make you feel so important and good. I am very fond of Kelvingrove."

Vettriano also revealed that he is seriously considering moving back to Scotland after putting his homes in London and the south coast of France up for sale.

The painter, from Methil in Fife, lived in Edinburgh during the 1990s but moved to London in 1998, living and working in a multi-million-pound apartment in Knightsbridge, while also owning a large apartment in Nice, overlooking the Baie des Anges, worth several million euros.

He has put both properties up for sale, and is unsure where he will buy a house next - it could be elsewhere in London, or ­Edinburgh, where he hopes to view some properties this week.

Vettriano said he was looking for a place with a sense of community and where he didn't have to "walk a mile to buy a nail."

However, Edinburgh inspires mixed emotions for the 61-year-old painter, who was self-taught and rejected by Edinburgh College of Art. His time living there coincided with a rise to fame and commercial success, but also some personal unhappiness.

"I loved Edinburgh. It is wonderful, but it has an underbelly... that I never quite managed to come to terms with," he says.

He adds: "Curiously enough, when I came to live in London, people would say, 'Oh, you're an artist, you want to live in a loft in Soho, or you want to be in Notting Hill.' But I said, 'No, I don't want to be anywhere near there. I want to live in a civilised area where there are no girls on the streets, or drugs being sold.' I had just had it."