Brighton artist Diane Brandrett surprised Norman Cook, known as Fatboy Slim, with a hand-painted oil portrait at a Pepita Coffee signing event at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery on Tuesday 27 October.
Ms Brandrett, a painter with the Society of Sussex Painters, sent ImJustBrighton the story and her photographs of the moment he received the painting. The account below is hers.
She says Mr Cook warmly embraced the surprise, playfully recreated the pose in the portrait for photographs and gave her a huge hug.
The portrait
Ms Brandrett says she painted the portrait especially for Mr Cook. It shows him in his well-known shouting pose, with the sea behind him and a yellow smiley face shining down like the sun.
She says the piece was inspired by Brighton and its vibrant, free-spirited energy.
Ms Brandrett said:
For me, the painting was a way of saying thank you to someone who gives so much back to Brighton.
Diane Brandrett
The moment he saw it
Ms Brandrett shared photographs of the moment Mr Cook received the portrait. Nine are shown below.
Striking the pose
Holding the portrait
Looking closer
The hug
Why she painted it
Ms Brandrett says she has enormous admiration for Mr Cook and his generosity towards the local community. She points to his support for Martlets Hospice and his involvement in grassroots community projects. These are her words about him; we have not checked each example.
About the signing event
Ms Brandrett says the portrait was presented at the Pepita Coffee x Fatboy Slim exclusive signing event at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. ImJustBrighton could not find a public listing for that event, so the details of the day come from her account.
Pepita Coffee sells coffee in collectable art tins. Earlier signing events for its tins with Mr Cook were listed at the Royal Pavilion’s Banqueting Room on 18 December 2025 and at The Brighton Box Gallery on 22 July 2026.
This article is based on Ms Brandrett’s account and photographs, which she emailed to ImJustBrighton on 3 November. We will update it if more is confirmed.
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