Nigel was born in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, he joined the Merchant Navy after leaving school and subsequently has held a number of jobs on the road to becoming a full-time artist.

Nigel Cooke sold his first painting at the age of 14 and joined Butlins as their resident caricaturist and entertainer in 1992.  He later went on to open caricature concessions on Blackpool’s Central Pier and Pleasure Beach, in the Trafford Centre Mall in Manchester, and at Alton Towers.

"My art is mainly humorous figurative paintings of people interacting. Naturally, this has its foundations in my lifelong dedication to portraiture, caricature, humorous illustration and character design."