The late Beryl Cook first came to national prominence in 1976 when the Sunday Times published an article about her and her paintings. Within days we were meeting her in Plymouth and subsequently published her first signed limited edition The Four Hungry Cats in 1977. The Art Class followed in 1979 and we have been publishing her work ever since, releasing at least one new title each year.
Artists whose work truly stands the test of time and the vagaries of fashion and trends are few and far between. The fact that Beryl's pictures have been collected and enjoyed throughout the country for over a quarter of a century is a testament to the true integrity of her painting as uniquely, Beryl painted solely for herself and no-one else; if a subject or incident amused her or captured her imagination she would paint it and, having done so, she would enjoy that picture as much as anyone.
For this reason paintings often remained in her possession for many months after they were finished. She painted what she wanted, not what anyone else wanted, and as her publishers we would not dream of trying to influence her painting in the way that many publishers do with their artists.
She was aware of her success but she was also aware of the negative aspects of over-exposure and this is why she had always been careful about the number of her pictures that were published as limited editions.
The key to her work was of course her sense of humour. She was never cruel or hurtful and loved larger-than-life characters and the more outrageous someone looks or behaves, the more she wanted to paint them. You will not find any of the 'art establishment' attempting to explain or even liking her work. Indeed it was a source of some pride to her that they didn't and if they did she would probably have had a fit!
For Beryl her pictures had a life of their own - ' I don't know how my pictures happen. They just do. They exist, but for the life of me I can't explain them' . That they do and that they bring such delight to so many is enough explanation for us all.
Biography and images courtesy and copyright of the publisher - Alexander Gallery /Beryl Cook,
