This Saturday is February the 14th and here, as promised, is the subject of our Valentine story, the painter Ian Cooper. It’s a classic fairytale!

Ian was born in 1947. He grew up to be a teenager in the streets of Manchester in the industrial North West of England.

His father was a hard-nosed bully married to Ian’s long-suffering and devoted mother, whom Ian always tried to protect from his father’s abusive behaviour.

Unsurprisingly, Ian grew up loathing all forms of violence. *. His passion was drawing.  At school, Ian won prizes for his art .

And he dreamed of going to Art school.

His father, however, had different thoughts and before Ian left school aged 14, his dad came home and announced he had signed Ian up as a bricklayer’s apprentice.  “You start on Monday! “

So, instead of running away to sea or joining a gang of renegades, as in the best Boys’ Own stories, Ian worked as a bricklayer’s apprentice, for the next 5 years.

As soon as he was free, he left home and headed, not to London like Dick Whittington, but to Jersey, in the Channel Islands. Not a bad scheme at all, this one - Ian got well away from home, to somewhere foreign, but not too much and, with a trade under his belt, he was now highly employable. He worked on Jersey for 3 further years, every now and then leaving to spend long stays exploring the Continent.

it must have been an amazing time for a bright young man from the back streets of dingy Manchester, starved of light and freedom, to be able now to explore the Art that was on offer in the museums and churches of Western Europe, to absorb new languages and cultures, and travel in landscapes completely new to him.

He regards his new life then as a happy hippie lifestyle. It seems remarkable that, quite inadvertently, Ian’s path in life became like that of many middle-class youngsters these days, albeit a bit heavy on the year out bit! But with plenty of dosh in his pocket and a keen idea of what he wanted to see and do, it was never wasted.
You can see the influences of postimpressionism and the Cubists, not to mention the Barbizon school, in his work today.

Eventually, Ian returned to Manchester, but not to the family home. He had plenty of friends who could put him up, and he was getting work. One winters night, at the pub, he saw a stunning brunette by the bar. As soon as he saw her, Ian just knew she, whose name was Sandra, was the girl he would marry! Which, of course, he did, on July 27, 1974, 6 months later.

Sandra gave birth to their son in the following year. Ian, being Ian, was and still is a loving and supportive father. And he still regards Sandra as his Muse, in Life as in Art.

Their life together began at a tough time when Britain was still struggling after the war, but in Manchester, the old terrace housing was being pulled down, along Oxford Road bomb sites left from the war were being cleared, and there was work to be done.
Working now as a fully qualified bricklayer, and with a small team now working under him, Ian used also to go to evening art classes. Someone there suggested he take his work to show the people at Manchester School of Art. Not having a portfolio, he took along some of his drawings.

When the tutors asked our hero why he thought they’d believe he’d done the drawings, he said he’d do one for them there and then..

When asked if he’d done any 3D work, he directed them to look out of the window and pointed to the entrance he had built to the church down the road.

When asked if he was literate and could manage the written work necessary for the course, he said if they wished he’d discuss the topic with them in French!

It was suggested he go away and paint every day for a month and bring them the results.

Still not having a portfolio, Ian filled an old suitcase with all the work he did in that month, took it along, and was accepted onto the Fine Art course on the spot!

Thus started Ian Cooper’s life in Art, mixing with his Tribe, and getting to know a variety of - stuff! Ian ended up getting a high 2/1 in 1985. He then became a part-time lecturer at South Manchester college and then at Salford.

He has been  painting daily ever since, and exploring his Europe together,  with Sandra.
Meticulous in everything he does, his work as a bricklayer started to pay very well, and the house that he and Sandra had to scrimp and save for is the house where they still live.
In the garden is the most beautifully constructed brick-built studio!

* Early on, Ian became a practising Buddhist and he finds fascination in every aspect of Life.

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