On l8th June painter John Bellany celebrated his 59^th birthday. That Bellany is still alive is little short of miraculous, the result of a remarkable liver transplant at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, in l988. So Bellany is the first living painter to have been represented in the Scottish National Gallery, as well as to be the subject of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery's first one-person show. Bellany's career developed following meteoric years at Edinburgh College of Art, and subsequently at the Royal College of Art, London. This was followed by stints in Germany and Australia. Bellany is still painting hard. There is currently a Scottish Arts Council assisted show at Duff House, Banff, Scotland.