Norfolk


<p>If you’ve ever stayed in one of Kit Kemp’s iconic boutique hotels, chances are you’ve already encountered the work of Norfolk-based artist&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://peterrocklin.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Peter Rocklin</a></strong>. From chef to fireman to woodworker to internationally commissioned painter, Peter’s creative journey is anything but ordinary &#8211; it&#8217;s <em>absolutely</em> fascinating.</p>



<p>I sat down with him in his gallery and studio space &#8211; the amazing <a href="https://eastrudhamgallery.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">East Rudham Gallery</a> &#8211; where he paints, offers bespoke picture framing, and creates all manner of creative and inspired interiors pieces (seriously, I filled my blank wall space three times over while I was there!). The vibe is Americana, with neon lights, guitars, Peter&#8217;s paintings and plenty of cool prints and artefacts that he has found and given life to in inventive ways. </p>



<p>After I&#8217;d stopped ogling all his creations, we chatted Pop Art, photorealism, the magic of making things, and how a self-taught artist ended up on the walls of New York and London’s most stylish hotels. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1045" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/11/6417971912345302186.jpg" alt="Peter Rocklin Self Portrait" class="wp-image-73944" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/11/6417971912345302186.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/11/6417971912345302186-766x800.jpg 766w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/11/6417971912345302186-957x1000.jpg 957w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/11/6417971912345302186-768x803.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-so-peter-did-you-always-want-to-be-an-artist">So Peter, did you always want to be an artist?</h3>



<p>Yes, I think I did. As far back as I can remember I was always drawing or making something. It didn’t matter what it was &#8211; a box car, a model house, painting, sketching &#8211; I just loved creating, and that’s always been the thread running through my life.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-were-your-parents-creative-too">Were your parents creative too?</h3>



<p>Yes, in practical ways. My mum was a brilliant cook and my dad was very handy with joinery and home improvements and I think that rubbed off on me &#8211; the idea that you can make things with your own two hands.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-haven-t-always-been-an-artist-though-have-you">You haven’t always been an artist though, have you?</h3>



<p>No. I’ve been a chef, a fireman, and a woodworker.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-those-are-wildly-different-careers-how-did-that-happen">Those are wildly different careers &#8211; how did that happen?</h3>



<p>I originally wanted to go to art college, but my parents thought it was too tough a career path. So I studied hotel and catering management instead. I actually enjoyed it &#8211; running hotels involves everything from law to marketing to training staff. But when I got into the kitchen, I suddenly understood why my mum loved cooking: the creativity of putting things together.</p>



<p>So after I finished that course I became a chef. I trained in Ilkley and then moved to one of the few Michelin-starred restaurants in the country at the time &#8211; The Box Tree. The chefs there were world-class, and their dedication to excellence stayed with me. It taught me professionalism and the drive to &#8220;get it right&#8221;, which I’ve poured into everything I have done since.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-so-when-did-the-fire-service-come-in">So when did the fire service come in?</h3>



<p>After a couple of years of long unsociable hours in the kitchen, I decided that I wanted to do something that genuinely helps people, and which gave me more time to paint. I spent 11 years in the fire service and absolutely loved it. It’s the best club in the world; wherever you go, firemen welcome you in. And in my spare time, my creative brain was still buzzing but instead of painting, I found myself building and designing things in wood &#8211; furniture, interiors, all sorts.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-and-that-led-to-your-woodworking">And that led to your woodworking?</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1393" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_4798.jpeg" alt="guitar painting by Peter Rocklin" class="wp-image-74055" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_4798.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_4798-800x743.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_4798-1000x929.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_4798-768x713.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Yes. While still firefighting, I was helping with fitted kitchens and double glazing on my days off, and I realised I wanted something of my own. I started making fire surrounds in Salt’s Mill in Saltaire, one of the largest former wool mills in Europe. Salt’s Mill at the time had small business units, and its owner, Jonathan Silver &#8211; a friend of David Hockney &#8211; became a huge influence. And through my accountant, I also met interior designer Richard Hanlon, another incredibly influential figure.</p>



<p>Richard said to me one day that my fireplaces were lovely, but London was saturated, and what was really needed were wooden table lamps. I’d never turned wood at that point, but I taught myself. I bought equipment with some money I’d saved, and I started making lamps, candlesticks &#8211; all sorts. Once a week I’d take my samples down to London, knock on the doors of interior designers, get orders, bring them home, make them, and take them back the next week. It grew so successfully that I eventually set up a factory in Keighley. Within about four years I had 25 employees making wooden lighting for high-street names like Laura Ashley and M&amp;S.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-so-how-did-the-kit-kemp-collab-come-about">So how did the Kit Kemp collab come about?</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1506" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_8102.jpeg" alt="Painting by Peter Rocklin" class="wp-image-74051" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_8102.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_8102-797x800.jpeg 797w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_8102-996x1000.jpeg 996w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_8102-768x771.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>While I was running the workshop, I was still painting. Richard Hanlon introduced my work to Kit and Tim of Firmdale Hotels. I’d heard of her because one of my London clients was supplying lighting and antique pieces to her hotels. Kit called me, we met at her head office in London, and she asked me to create several large pieces for their new Haymarket Hotel, and that started a long, wonderful relationship. My work has since appeared at Ham Yard, Crosby Street in New York, and other hotels. Kit and Tim even came to our wedding in 2010.</p>



<p>Because of that visibility, I began receiving more commissions &#8211; including from Des McAnuff, the director of&nbsp;<em>Jersey Boys</em>, and various corporate and private collectors. Covid changed a lot of things, but I’ve continued painting and taking commissions.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-would-you-describe-your-artistic-style">How would you describe your artistic style?</h3>



<p>People often ask that and it’s surprisingly hard to answer. As a teenager, I was introduced to Pop Art &#8211; Warhol, Lichtenstein &#8211; and it blew my mind. They made everyday objects extraordinary. Then I discovered the photorealists: Richard McLean, Chuck Close, Richard Estes, Ralph Goings… artists who painted with such precision that the work looked like a photograph. That world of photo-realism grabbed me. I’ve always been fascinated by the&nbsp;<em>process</em>&nbsp;&#8211; how something is made from nothing. To me, that’s magic. I’ve carried that desire to create reality from paint all my life.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-inspires-you">What inspires you?</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2560" height="1280" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/figs-and-chillis-8-scaled.jpg" alt="Chillis and figs " class="wp-image-74052" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/figs-and-chillis-8-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/figs-and-chillis-8-800x400.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/figs-and-chillis-8-1000x500.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/figs-and-chillis-8-768x384.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/figs-and-chillis-8-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/figs-and-chillis-8-2048x1024.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></figure>



<p><em>Everything</em>. When I was a chef, my only day off was Monday, so my friend and I went to the cinema every week. Films have hugely shaped my visual imagination &#8211; anything with Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Paul Newman… all of that atmosphere has seeped into my work. And then of course there’s music, architecture, objects… inspiration is everywhere.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-did-you-ever-get-to-art-school-in-the-end">Did you ever get to art school in the end?</h3>



<p>No &#8211; but I’ve probably studied more intensively on my own. I’ve spent my life in galleries, reading, learning, experimenting. Hockney’s book&nbsp;<em>Secret Knowledge</em>&nbsp;was hugely influential &#8211; he argues convincingly that old masters used lenses and devices like the camera obscura. Understanding that helped me develop my own process: setting up objects, lighting them dramatically (I have old theatre lights I love), photographing from above, printing the image, dividing it into grids, and then scaling it up &#8211; the same way traditional fresco painters did.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-a-typical-painting-day-like-for-you">What’s a typical painting day like for you?</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1504" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_6793.jpeg" alt="painting by Peter Rocklin" class="wp-image-74056" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_6793.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_6793-798x800.jpeg 798w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_6793-997x1000.jpeg 997w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_6793-400x400.jpeg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_6793-768x770.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_6793-500x500.jpeg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>I used to work nine to five, but now my eyes will only let me do four or five hours before they get tired. Painting is quite physical &#8211; arms up, leaning over a mahl stick, fine detail work. But creativity isn’t limited to studio hours. I often wake up at night making notes or planning ideas. Inspiration has never been a problem &#8211; if anything, it’s choosing what&nbsp;<em>not</em>&nbsp;to paint!</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-listen-to-anything-while-you-paint">Do you listen to anything while you paint?</h3>



<p>Radio 4 &#8211; unless it gets too political! I love plays, stories, comedy, jazz, blues. I sometimes joke that part of my job is being a professional listener.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-been-your-career-highlight">What’s been your career highlight?</h3>



<p>Being recognised by Richard Hanlon and Kit Kemp. The commissions, the hotels  &#8211; that was life-changing. Money comes and goes, but recognition from people you respect lasts forever.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-have-you-ever-painted-anyone-famous">Have you ever painted anyone famous?</h3>



<p>I’ve done portraits, but it’s not really my passion. People sometimes suggest I enter&nbsp;<em>Portrait Artist of the Year</em>, but two things put me off: the competitiveness, and the time pressure. I think competition changes the nature of the work. Art isn’t a race &#8211; and I don’t enjoy painting under that kind of spotlight.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-you-re-not-crazy-about-portraits-what-is-your-favourite-thing-to-paint">If you&#8217;re not crazy about portraits, what is your favourite thing to paint?</h3>



<p>Architecture, buildings, city scapes and anything that has light. In all my paintings, it is the light which I try and capture. It adds such a vibrancy, and brings them to life. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-let-s-talk-about-east-rudham-gallery-it-s-an-amazing-space-you-have-here">Let&#8217;s talk about East Rudham Gallery &#8211; it&#8217;s an amazing space you have here</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="840" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_5244.jpeg" alt="East Rudham Gallery" class="wp-image-74049" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_5244.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_5244-800x448.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_5244-1000x560.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/IMG_5244-768x430.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Thank you, I have been here almost 18 months now. I paint here as well, as my wife Jolanda (founder of <a href="https://norfolk.muddystilettos.co.uk/little-black-book/directory/the-little-school-of-needlecraft-north-creake/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Little School of Needlecraft</a>) has taken over my studio at home for her classes. I have a little workshop out back, I learnt how to frame pictures too so that is where I do that too. Everything in here I have either painted, or found at antiques stores or markets and framed. I love giving life to things. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2560" height="1280" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/gallery-8-scaled.jpg" alt="East Rudham Gallery" class="wp-image-74050" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/gallery-8-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/gallery-8-800x400.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/gallery-8-1000x500.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/gallery-8-768x384.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/gallery-8-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2025/12/gallery-8-2048x1024.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></figure>



<p><strong>Pop in and see Peter at <a href="https://eastrudhamgallery.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">East Rudham Gallery</a>, Wed &#8211; Sat, 11am &#8211; 4pm</strong></p>



<p><strong>Address</strong>: Millstone House, Station Road, East Rudham, Norfolk PE31 8RB, <strong>Tel</strong>:01553 423067, <strong>E</strong>:peter@eastrudhamgallery.co.uk</p>



<p></p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more"><em>IN THE MOOD FOR MORE?</em></h2>



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From firefighting to fine art: Inside Peter Rocklin’s wildly creative world

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