Artist spends two years covering every square inch of his £1.35m house in DOODLES

A world-renowned artist has spent two years covering every square inch of his £1.35million house in doodles – working his way through 900 litres of emulsion, 401 cans of spray paint, 286 bottles of drawing paint, and 2,296 pen nibs.

Sam Cox, also known as Mr Doodle, has spent the last two years plastering the walls of his six-bedroom, neo-Georgian mansion with the signature black-and-white drawings that earned him his name.

The artist, 28, built his 2.7million Instagram followers after studying illustration at the University of The West of England in Bristol, where he would spend 16-hour days drawing, earning him the nickname ‘the Doodle Man’.

He rose to notoriety in 2017 when he opened a Mr Doodle pop-up shop at Old Street station in east London, which saw a Facebook video of his creations viewed 46 million times in a week.

But, according to Mr Cox, his lifelong goal has been to buy a house to transform into a ‘doodle-verse’.

And in 2019 the 28-year-old’s dream came true when he purchased a property in the quaint town of Tenterden, Kent for £1.35 million.

The world-renowned artist (pictured in front of his ‘Doodle House’) has spent two years covering every square inch of his £1.35million house in doodles – working his way through 900 litres of emulsion, 401 cans of spray paint, 286 bottles of drawing paint, and 2,296 pen nibs

Sam Cox (pictured with his wife Alenaon the ground floor of the 'Doodle House'), also known as Mr Doodle, has spent the last two years plastering the walls of his six-bedroom, neo-Georgian mansion with the signature black-and-white drawings that earned him his name

Sam Cox (pictured with his wife Alenaon the ground floor of the ‘Doodle House’), also known as Mr Doodle, has spent the last two years plastering the walls of his six-bedroom, neo-Georgian mansion with the signature black-and-white drawings that earned him his name

The artist (pictured outside the front door of his 'Doodle House'), 28, used spray paint for the outside of the property

The artist (pictured outside the front door of his ‘Doodle House’), 28, used spray paint for the outside of the property

Mr Cox said the couple who sold him the house begged him not to doodle on the walls, but he ignored their pleas.

He told The Sunday Times: ‘They told me whatever you do, please don’t doodle. I didn’t listen.’

The artist’s adventurous project began in the main bedroom – which he decorated with ‘dream’ themed drawings – and the 2,000-tile en-suite bathroom, which has a sea theme.

The first stage took a gruelling two months to complete, but Mr Cox was determined to finish it on his own.

He added: ‘It’s the longest project I’ve done. I wanted to say I’d done it all myself.’

On Sunday, Mr Cox unveiled the finished product (pictured is him in the bath in the bathroom) - which he described as his 'living artwork' - in a time-lapse video on social media

On Sunday, Mr Cox unveiled the finished product (pictured is him in the bath in the bathroom) – which he described as his ‘living artwork’ – in a time-lapse video on social media

According to Mr Cox (pictured with his wife Alena in the kitchen in the 'Doodle House'), his lifelong goal has been to buy a house to transform into a 'doodle-verse'

According to Mr Cox (pictured with his wife Alena in the kitchen in the ‘Doodle House’), his lifelong goal has been to buy a house to transform into a ‘doodle-verse’

Mr Cox has left no surface untouched, with every wall and ceiling and all amenities (pictured is the toaster, toast and crockery in the 'Doodle House') covered in monochromatic doodles

Mr Cox has left no surface untouched, with every wall and ceiling and all amenities (pictured is the toaster, toast and crockery in the ‘Doodle House’) covered in monochromatic doodles

On Sunday, Mr Cox unveiled the finished product – which he described as his ‘living artwork’ – in a time-lapse video on social media.

He has left no surface untouched, with every wall and ceiling and all amenities – including the television, hob and bath – covered in monochromatic doodles.

Despite admitting he did not plan any of his drawings, Mr Cox has given every room its own theme.

For example, the hallway is covered with Noah’s Ark creations, while the stairs are decorated with Heaven and Hell drawings.

He said: ‘I had a rough idea of the theme but the individual doodles are spontaneous.

‘My main inspiration still goes back to when I was kid watching Tom and Jerry, Wacky Races and SpongeBob SquarePants, and video games like Crash Bandicoot. I always wanted to draw characters for video games.’

For the indoor doodles, the 28-year-old explained that he used black acrylic paint and a bingo marker-pen in four different sizes. All the surfaces have been lacquered to ensure they do not fade. And for the outside of the property he used spray paint.

The artist's adventurous project began in the main bedroom and the 2,000-tile en-suite bathroom (pictured), which has a sea theme

The artist’s adventurous project began in the main bedroom and the 2,000-tile en-suite bathroom (pictured), which has a sea theme

For the indoor doodles, the 28-year-old explained that he used black acrylic paint and a bingo marker-pen in four different sizes (pictured is the finished kitchen)

For the indoor doodles, the 28-year-old explained that he used black acrylic paint and a bingo marker-pen in four different sizes (pictured is the finished kitchen)

In 2019 the 28-year-old's doodle dream came true when he purchased a property (pictured) in the quaint town of Tenterden, Kent for £1.35 million

In 2019 the 28-year-old’s doodle dream came true when he purchased a property (pictured) in the quaint town of Tenterden, Kent for £1.35 million

The only downside to Sam’s whacky house is that it has attracted attention from the local children who have taken to ringing the doorbell out of curiosity.

But the artist has not received any complaints from his neighbours yet, so he has no plans to tone down the property’s aesthetic or move house any time soon.

He added: ‘I’m unlikely to be persuaded to move, even if it was amazing money.

‘I’d feel sad leaving this house, because it’s my first one.’

However, he admitted he would like to spread his creativity further by doodling more houses in the local area and ‘and make a doodle town’.

He told KentOnline: ‘The completion of the house is just the beginning of my childhood dream to doodle the entire planet and to encourage the art world to recognise doodles as an art form.

‘I am so excited that my doodles now have a permanent home in the UK.’

Mr Cox (pictured lounging in a chair in his 'Doodle House') said the couple who sold him the house begged him not to doodle on the walls, but he ignored their pleas

Mr Cox (pictured lounging in a chair in his ‘Doodle House’) said the couple who sold him the house begged him not to doodle on the walls, but he ignored their pleas

The artist's adventurous project began in the main bedroom (pictured with Mr Cox, left, and his wife Alena, right, sitting on the bed in the 'Doodle House') - which he decorated with 'dream' themed drawings - and the bathroom

The artist’s adventurous project began in the main bedroom (pictured with Mr Cox, left, and his wife Alena, right, sitting on the bed in the ‘Doodle House’) – which he decorated with ‘dream’ themed drawings – and the bathroom

Despite admitting he did not plan any of his drawings, Mr Cox has given every room its own theme. For example, the hallway is covered with Noah's Ark creations, while the stairs are decorated with Heaven and Hell drawings (pictured with Mr Cox standing at the bottom of the staircase in the 'Doodle House')

Despite admitting he did not plan any of his drawings, Mr Cox has given every room its own theme. For example, the hallway is covered with Noah’s Ark creations, while the stairs are decorated with Heaven and Hell drawings (pictured with Mr Cox standing at the bottom of the staircase in the ‘Doodle House’)

Mr Doodle, his wife Alena and their dog now plan to make the living artwork their permanent home in the coming weeks.

The couple met on Instagram after Alena commented on one of Sam’s videos prompting them to meet up in person in Berlin in 2018.

Alena, who moved to the UK from Kharkiv, Ukraine in 2020, said she finds the monochromatic doodles ‘calming’ and even drives a doodled Tesla.

However Sam’s unique aesthetic has not necessarily been easy to live with – even for the artist himself.

In February 2020, he contracted the flu and started having hallucinations about his doodles, which led to him spending six weeks on a psychiatric ward.

He told The Sunday Times: ‘I thought I was living in a video game as Mr Doodle and was friends with Banksy.

‘It’s a scary feeling to think you are losing your mind and not know what’s real. It’s impossible to know how to act or who to trust.’

According to Sam, doctors said his psychotic episode was brought on by stress – something which he puts down to struggling with the administrative side of his work.

He added: ‘I’m glad I have a grasp on reality again and I now make sure to go on walks and step outside of doodle world now and then.’

But he still believes doodling is good for his mental health and said he sleeps better if he spends at least 12 hours of the day drawing.

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