The Original Coop's Shed

Welcome to the original "Coops Shed"! This is what inspired me to draw, and build this site in the first place - and what keeps me going when I feel like no-one will ever see anything I do. This is Granddad Cooper's shed, and it's what gave me the original idea for this site.

My grandfather was an artist. No; I wouldn't say that is entirely correct. He was a creator. He drew; he painted. He was also a carpenter. He experimented with all different kinds of mediums, much to my grandmother's dismay - it would often get messy.

 
As a child, I loved to go down to his shed. Some would say I didn't belong there - being born female, I was meant to do something more "feminine" things, such as cooking, or dressmaking. I, of course, had no interesting in doing such things. So, I'd do what I technically wasn't meant to do and would go to the shed instead.

 

I wanted to be like him. I wanted to be amongst his paints, his charcoal, his tools. It was a haven, to a child. It was messy, but no-one called it that. It just…was what it was. A place to do whatever you wished to do, a place to experiment. And, yes, it was a bit dangerous, sometimes: there was chunks of wood outside, so there were snakes sometimes (not that I ever saw one). 

And there was some wicked looking woodworking equipment, let me tell you! I once went down there at night and the table saw - I would have no idea what it’s actually called - looked like some kind of monster from the deep. But it was a haven. No matter what time of year you went down, there was always something going on. You would step in, and smell one of three things: paint, wood, or charcoal.

He inspired me, growing up. He had his own health problems, including a stint in the local hospital. He got sick with heart troubles. He’d once tbadly injured his eye, resulting in a fake one, and accidentally amputated part of his finger due to carpentry. That never mattered to him. Nor did the mess he would create. “It doesn’t matter”, he’d say. An sketch gone wrong, a project not working? “I’ll try again another day”.

 

And he always did. Now, I’ll admit - as a child, I was somewhat of a fool. I honestly didn’t appreciate all he did. I didn’t appreciate his art, or who he was - his tenacity to keep going, even with his health issues. I was honestly blinded by the hate I had to deal with from others, from people who had demonised me for not being “feminine” enough - family included.

He never did. He didn’t care; he just wanted to his thing, and to create. He passed too soon, and his death still haunts me. Not because it was overly horrific – in the end, he was in no pain thanks to morphine – but because in him, I had a kindred spirit. He was troubled, but he just wanted to do his own thing. As do I.
 
He was a great man.
 

And he was a great artist. This very sketch is, apparently, still hangs in Hotel Etico in the Blue Mountains, if a recent show is to be believed. I'm not so sure, to be honest, but it's a nice thought if it does. This was previously known as Westwood Lodge, a place he stayed at with his young family, for some time.
 
He taught me what I know. I have nowhere near the talent he had, but he inspires me every day, to follow what I want, and to be as creative as I wish – despite high school teachers telling me I had no talent.
 

After all, art is subjective.
 
Admittedly, he wasn’t one for technology, In his later years, he struggled with that. But he’d find images to sketch, and experiment, just as I do. I experiment with both art and technology. If you want to know more about the tech side of things, check out my brand new site, Ouvert d'Esprit.
 

But this site, Cooper’s Shed, is for him.

 
This site is dedicated to my grandfather - the late Charles Graham Cooper.

All images on this site were originally drawn by Charles Graham Cooper, and have been scanned by myself for the purpose of this site. Any reproduction are not authorised and are unknown by myself and his family.