[4] Cook admired the work of the English artist Stanley Spencer,[5] his influence evident in her compositions and bold bulky figures.

Although widely popular and recognised as one of the most well-known contemporary British artists, Cook never enjoyed acceptance by the art establishment.

Her parents, Adrian S. B. Lansley and Ella Farmer-Francis, separated very early and her mother moved to Reading, Berkshire with her daughters.

Beryl attended Kendrick School there, but left education at fourteen and started to work in a variety of jobs.

[10] The family returned to England in the mid-sixties and moved to East Looe, Cornwall in 1965, where Beryl focused more on her painting.

In the mid-seventies, her works caught the attention of one of their guests, who put her in touch with the management of the Plymouth Arts Centre, where her first exhibition took place in November 1975.

Tiger Aspect Productions made two animated films called Bosom Pals using characters from her paintings, voiced by Dawn French, Rosemary Leach, Alison Steadman and Timothy Spall, and broadcast in February 2004.

Channel 4 News produced a short film on Beryl and her work in 2005, and she was also the featured artist in BBC Two's The Culture Show in 2006.