Tributes continue to flood in for Beryl Cook. Most of the broadsheets have published obituaries reflecting the great affection for this artist . Cook often started paintings from sketches she made in the Dolphin , her local pub in Plymouth .One of these is the Strippergram. Local Billy explains: “One day a strippergram came in for one of the customers. I don’t remember which one.
“She used to carry these cards around with her and make sketches. That’s what she was doing when Billy saw her with her head down.â€
“She came back a few weeks later and showed me her drawing. That one,†adds Billy, as he points to a Beryl Cook print on the wall above the fruit machine.
The painting shows a chubby lady, down to her underwear, stripping for a bemused drinker. In the background, one customer plays the fruit machine, oblivious to the excitement.
“That’s me,†says Rob.
“She used to come in every Friday,†says Rob. Billy, who has held the Dolphin licence for the past 20 years
“She had one helluva laugh. Really deep.”
Among her many paintings Angels is one of her most popular