Beryl Cook The Bumper Edition (2001)

     Beryl Cook The Bumper Edition (2001) Ed. J. W. Blundell. A compilation of the first eight books of Beryl Cook’s wonderful paintings, arranged by theme, with a memoir by the editor and extensive captions by the artist. Beryl Cook is one of those self-taught artists that the art establishment often labels naif or folk artists, implying that their lack of art education or membership in a school or group makes their work less serious. But Cook is a very serious artist, as her captions indicate: she talks often about the difficulties of composition, of how one or another element (usually a figure) takes over the painting, or of her liking for colours and objects. She constantly makes ”notes”, that is sketches and words about people or items that catch her eye. She talks about how she chooses people and objects to fit into her pictures – she evidently wants her pictures to please the eye and the mind, and be more than mere literal records.
     In other words, she knows what she’s doing, and the inclusion of some of her earliest works also shows an early mastery of medium and technique, and the development of a very self-conscious style. She claims influence from Stanley Spencer, an influence that I think is not merely one of visual effects but also of the joy in and relishing of the earthly and earthy life. Her paintings of animals show that she could, if she wanted to, paint her people with academic precision, but the style she has chosen expresses her delight in the variety of human existence and the many innocent (and some not so innocent) pleasures we humans are capable of. She loves to show people having fun, enjoying themselves, wearing their best, being in company. She has a non-judgmental eye, and a healthy relish for the flesh.
     I first encountered her work in a news group dedicated to scans of miscellaneous art, most of which was more or less sentimental kitsch. Cook’s work was a welcome antidote. Official website here. **** (2004)