Beryl Cook &

Stanley Spencer

Beryl Cook(1926-2008)

Beryl Cook was born in 1926 in Surrey, England, one of four sisters. She left school at fourteen, showing little talent for painting

and worked in a variety of jobs.

Moving to London in 1943 Beryl became a showgirl in a touring production of “The

Gypsy Princess”.

She also worked in the fashion industry, which inspired her life-long interest in the

way people dress and how they look.

www.berylcook.org

Beryl Cook OBE:“I don’t know how my pictures happen, they

just do. They exist, but for the life of me I can’t

explain them.”

Tommy Dancing Oil

The Lady of Marseilles

• Characters are always enjoying themselves to

the full

Mr. Muscle

Beryl Cook • Movement: Contemporary• Influenced by: Stanley Spencer

a social observer

bold, bulky figures

often depicting flamboyant and

extrovert characters

www.berylcook.org Tattoo Parlour

Beryl Cook

• Who buys her paintings?“I think pop stars buy some of them,”

she says.

She is interested in

even the mundane aspects of life such as shopping!

www.berylcook.org

Bertie’s Portrait

Clubbing in the Rain

Brought up in Reading, England, Beryl’s early love of art was nurtured by visits to

art galleries with her mother. “When I started to draw and

didn’t know how to, I’d look at cartoons. They get a lot of

expression in a very few lines - and this is how my style

developed. The artist Stanley Spencer was the greatest

influence on me.”

Produced books of her work with her

own commentaries

• "You really have the art of being very funny indeed without being the least bit malicious.  A very rare quality." 

Beryl Cook

www.berylcook.org

observes crowds of people

Tenerife Days

Two on a stool

Scenes of everyday life

Glasgow Museum of Modern Art boasts three Beryl Cook’s and her work also hangs in

Plymouth and Bristol City Art Galleries and in significant collections worldwide.

She has had several Museum touring shows.

• Beryl Cook died on 28 May 2008 aged 81.  She was described by the English

Book and Magazine Collector as "... one of Britain's most popular painters with

her pictures of 'fat ladies' ... She produced over a dozen books and compilations of her artworks ...".

Beryl Cook

www.berylcook.org

Word in Your Ear

Beryl Cook

“Dyno-Rod” “Sailors and Sweethearts”

• Born: 10th September 1926 in Surrey, England• Died: 28th May 2008, in Plymouth, England, aged 81• Art Training: No formal art training. Taught herself

• Didn’t start painting until she was middle aged.• Influenced by: Stanley Spencer – bold, bulky figures &

influenced by his compositions• Movement:Contemporary• Family: one of four sisters

• She left school at fourteen, showing little talent for painting and worked in a variety of jobs.

• Moving to London in 1943 Beryl became a showgirl in a touring production of “The Gypsy Princess”.

• She also worked in the fashion industry, which inspired her life-long interest in the way people dress and how they look.

Beryl CookBiography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryl_Cook www.berylcook.org

Stanley Spencer(1891-1959)

• Sir Stanley Spencer was born in 1891 in Cookham,

a village on the River

Thames.EDUCATION

He was educated by his older sister who allowed him to spend much of his time drawing as he was

not very interested in his lessons.

His father took him to the annual exhibition at the Royal Academy in London when he was old

enough.

Stanley Spencer(1891-1959)

Art Education:At the age of 16 he decided he wanted to be an artist and his father realising that he had talent, allowed him to go to Art

School. He studied at the Slade School of Art between 1908 and

1912 and won a scholarship and prizes there.

Stanley Spencer(1891-1959)

Shipbuilders on the Clyde

Stanley Spencer(1891-1959)

• In these very detailed paintings Spencer brought to life the

atmosphere, • the noise, activity and feel of the

crowded workshops of the shipyards.

• They were done on a very large scale, not very high but very long. In order to see them properly you have to walk down their length to see all the different kinds of work

going on. This seems to emphasise

• how busy the workshops were with men squeezed into every corner of a scene crammed with action.

• Ordinary working men were given great dignity in these

monumental compositions and the respect with which he treated

them.

Each figure in this elaborate composition has value and weight, and the action moves fluidly across the canvas.

Stanley Spencer(1891-1959)

Stanley SpencerBorn: 30th June 1891 in Cookham, England

Died: 14th December 1959 aged 68 in Cliveden, Buckinghamshire, England

Art Training: Slade School of Art (1908-1912)Movement:he has been described as an Early Modernist

painterFamily: one brother

*1915-Volunteered in World War 1 with the Royal Army Medical Corps

• His experiences of war and seeing his friends killed marked Spencer’s attitude to life and death. This can be seen in his

work which has strong religious themes. *War Artist in WW1 & WW2

*WW2: made famous paintings of shipbuilders on the River Clyde.

Stanley SpencerBeryl Cook

Beryl Cook Stanley Spencer

Beryl Cook Stanley Spencer

Hilda Welcomed1953Sailors and Sweethearts

Beryl Cook Stanley Spencer

Stanley Spencer

Beryl Cook

Dustbin Men

Filling the Tea Urns

S4 Expressive

Beryl Cook & Stanley SpencerAnswer all questions in sentences

1. Name the two artists you are going to write about

2. What kind of pictures do you think they are each best known for? E.g. portraiture, figure compositions (groups of figures), landscapes,

still life.

3. Do you think that their paintings were inspired by events they had actually seen or had imagined or both?

• Give one or two examples for each painter

4. What kind of effect do you think Beryl Cook was trying to get in her paintings?

What makes you think that?

5. What kind of effect was Stanley Spencer trying to get in his paintings? What makes you think that?

Beryl Cook

• DESCRIBING THEIR WORK

• Describe one the following paintings by Beryl Cook:

• “Dyno Rod” or “Sailors and Sweethearts”

Dyno-Rod Sailors and Sweethearts

Beryl Cook1.Say what the subject of the painting is

e.g people working, playing, in boats, at home etc.

2.Name the painting.3. Describe what is happening in the painting and what the

painting is about.4. Describe the mood of the painting.

5. Which visual elements do you think the artist was most interested in when they were painting their picture and why? (Colour, tone, texture, shape, form, pattern, line,

atmosphere)

6. Describe those parts of the painting where you think the artist has made good use of particular visual elements.

Say why you think this?

Visual Elements are:

line, shape, tone

colour, form

pattern, texture

atmosphere/mood

technique

Beryl Cook

Beryl Cook• Describe the painting by following the instructions below

CONTENT: What is in the painting?

COMPOSITION: How has the artist constructed or arranged the painting? (describe where everything

is)

LINE: What types of line can you see in the painting? Choose from the following:

Thick, thin, precise, straight, curved, uneven, smooth, bold, elegant, clear, stripe, vertical, diagonal, sloping.

When you have chosen your words describe in full where you find these lines in your painting. What effect does it have on the painting. Could it be better?

The type of lines I can see in this painting are??? They are found ??

I think they make the painting look??

I think the use of different types of line is???

• TONE: What types of tone (Light & Dark )can you see in your painting?

What effect does it have on the painting?.

• Here are some words to choose from:

strong, soft, dull, shadow, clear, contrasting, subtle, deep, highlights, light, dark

When you have chosen your words refer to the painting to describe the types of tone used.

• COLOUR: What kinds of colour has the artist used in the painting? Are they warm colours like reds, yellows, oranges, or cool colours like blues

greens, purple?

• Do the colours make the painting look real? Remember to refer to the painting in your answer.

Here are some words about colour that might help you:

bright, dull, strong, bold, light, dark, deep, subtle, vibrant, contrasting, complementary, rich, pale, soft, realistic

• SHAPE/FORM: What kinds of shapes and forms has the artist used in the painting?

• Shape defines an area in a 2-dimensional work. Shape can be produced by the application of line, tone, colour, pattern, and or texture.

• Form is 3-dimensional shape.

Here are some words about shape and form:

Solid, geometric, regular, irregular, organic, natural, man-made, rounded, angular, tall, wide, pointed, elegant, profile, figure, deep,

rectangular, square, circular, modelled, cubed

• TEXTURE is the tactile quality of a surface – (what a surface feels like)

• Texture can also be represented in 2 dimensions, to create the effect of a tactile surface.

Here are some words to describe texture:

Smooth, rough, soft, hard, shiny, wrinkly, hairy, woven, velvety, greasy, fleecy, angular, uneven, furry, bumpy, rippled, fine, rounded,

brushwork, controlled, loose, tight, striped.

• PATTERN is the arrangement of similar or repeated lines, shapes, forms, tones or colours. Pattern can be regular,

rhythmic or random. Pattern can be natural or man-made.

Decorative, rhythmic, repeating, varied, simple, bold, man-made, natural, repeated shapes, complicated, geometric, lines, stripes,

tight, loose, simple,

• MOOD/ATMOSPHERE describes the way a painting makes you feel when you look at it.

Feelings Words to describe feelings and opinions:

interesting, exciting, cluttered, restful, peaceful, mood, atmosphere, imaginative, happy, sad, spontaneous, stiff, messy, attractive, ugly,

repulsive, pleasing, delicate, contrasting, cold, warm, annoying, humorous, demented, cheeky, playful.

• Techniques used by artists:• Beryl Cook painted using oil paints applied with a variety of brushes.

• Can you describe how the artist has applied the paint in your painting?• Is it appropriate?

• Does it have a good effect on the overall composition and content? • Could it be done better?

• LOOK at your painting – ALL your answers are there.

• LOOK at and USE the word banks on the visual elements.

• Work to a STRUCTURE – start a new paragraph for each visual element

• Give your honest opinions and back up what you say.

Start with:• I think…..• I feel…..

• My opinion is…..

Most important thing: be confident!! You know your own opinions!

Say what you think is happening in the painting and just describe it all!

BRIGHT

LIGHT HEARTED

HUMOUROUS

BOLD

LIVELY

ANIMATED

CHEERFUL

EXAGGERATED

CYLINDRICAL

DECORATIVE

VIBRANT

VOLUPTUOUS

PROVOCATIVE

CAREFREE

OUTGOING

SELF-TAUGHT

USES PRIMARY COLOURS

USES BLOCKS OF COLOUR

WORD BANK

SERIOUS

TEXTURED

CONTRASTING

HEAVY

DARK

LIMITED-COLOUR RANGETONAL

STRUCTURAL-PATTERN

MUTED

HARMONIOUS

EARTHY

TEXTURED

STYLISED

SOMBRE

ANATOMICAL

OFFICIAL WAR ARTIST

VISIONARY

TRAINED ARTIST

THOUGHTFUL

DRAUGHTSMAN

ECCENTRIC

Name: Class:

MONUMENTAL

RELIGIOUS SCENESDISTURBING

Stanley Spencer

Hilda Welcomed1953