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more about Brenda Cook about art + power
more about Brenda Cook
I paint in inks, paints and watercolours and make rugs and tapestry. I also writes poetry and have made a film (The Wrong Flowers). I have run workshops with students in schools.
I like colours, and I never had the opportunity to do art at Doncaster Road school. They wouldn’t let me choose my own colours, or let me do the things I wanted to do. They said I belonged to the school and made me comply to their rules like everyone else.
I went to another school where there was no uniform, and they let me do the things I liked and choose the colours I wanted. I was allowed to take my work home, which I wasn’t allowed to do before, even after I left. We went out on trips and visits, and talked about interesting things.
We had choices.
I paint abstract pictures, both from books and from life. I like to paint farms and flowers. I like landscapes because they’ve got lots of different colours, and I enjoy having lots of time to paint them. I paint at home too - I paint all the time. At school there was never time to do things, however good they were. Time is precious to me; I don’t like to hurry or rush things.
My brothers and sisters and their children and grandchildren have seen the film (The Wrong Flowers) and they all like it. They moved to Australia, but I was at the BRI (Bristol Royal Infirmary) and they wouldn’t let me go with them. I’m glad I stayed in Britain because I have got a lot of friends in Bristol and in art + power.
I’ve seen a bit of life.
To see more of Brenda Cook’s artwork, click here.
