Beryl Cook, painter of big ladies, dies aged 81

The artist Beryl Cook has died at her home in Plymouth at the age of 81. She had been suffering from cancer for some time.

Even if you have never encountered an original Cook image, you are sure to recognise her creations from a number of reproductions. Her fat ladies have appeared on anything from greetings cards and jigsaw puzzles to an animated BBC sitcom.

“Her observations were honest and humourous, they portrayed English culture in most fitting of ways.”

Cook was well known for her infectious enthusiasm for life. It bursts out of her paintings with so much pazazz it’s hard not to feel uplifted when looking upon one.

Cook began painting in 1963 at the age of about 40. She would work all summer and then paint during the quiet winter months.

Over the years her paintings have become more and more popular. They offer a view of contemporary life. Her pictures create a sort of high street fashion catalogue; the string vests and the white stilettos, the leopard-skin prints and the hotpants, the Little Chef uniforms and the kiss-me-quick sailor hats.

Cook had an incredible way of observing everyday life and creating art from the ‘norm’. Her observations were honest and humourous, they portrayed English culture in most fitting of ways.

Beryl Cook will be sorely missed, though it is most certain she will live on through each every one of the characters she painted for years to come.