I’ve been a painter and print maker for fourteen years. My subjects are indicative of the Southeastern United States: palm trees, alligators, lily pads, horses, tornadoes. Many of the images are singular (one horse, one alligator, one palm tree, and more recently, one African mask). I see these images as self portraits, different facets of myself. I paint and draw intuitively, expressionistically. I do not shy away from disturbing subjects, but neither am I opposed to beauty or poignancy in art. In the past year, (1987) I have begun making monotypes. The sensual surfaces move me. I love working with the Japanese papers and the ink. I love the finality of the press. Once the work goes through, there is no refining. The process is fast, direct. My work is about feelings. It is not analytical or intellectual. It is the search for the mystery within the subject, within myself.

Cooter was influenced for the most part by the folk art of the South – specifically, the work of Sam Doyle and Reverend Howard Finster and also my love of the land and the animals of my region.