Vanessa Cooper was born and grew up in Hampshire, and has been painting since her early 'teens. Vanessa Cooper studied at Portsmouth University and first exhibited her work in 1987. Vanessa Cooper has built a reputation as a bold, imaginative artist with a deep love of colour, “…for me it's the colour that does it every time.” Vanessa Cooper takes her models from nature and from family life – from forests, gardens, pets, and children. There are deep veins of both sensuality and humour in her work, which enhance their vitality. Often categorised as a 'naïve' artist, Vanessa Cooper works principally in oils and a variety of other mediums, redrawing her compositions over and over again to pare down the picture's content to its basic elements, “It's harder to leave things out of a painting than to pile a load of stuff in.”

Vanessa Cooper also teaches at The ArtHouse, Meath - a non profit Centre of Artistic Excellence for adults with learning difficulties.

'Vanessa's paintings are full of joy. They are heart-warming and rich, and much of this is down to her palette.' Artists and Illustrators, February 2012