A world-renowned artist who doodled all over his £1.35million mansion has revealed how he went from earning huge sums to being sectioned on a psychiatric ward.
Sam Cox, also known as Mr Doodle, rose to fame in 2017 when a video of him using a marker pen to draw all over a shop was viewed 46 million times in one week on social media.
Soon after, his doodles were selling for one million dollars each and he was being commissioned by big name brands such as Adidas.
And in 2019, the 31-year-old’s dream came true when he purchased a property in the quaint town of Tenterden, Kent for £1.35 million.
He planned to draw all over the house, starting in the main bedroom with dream-themed doodles.
The compulsive artist started working for 36 hours straight to finish the project, which he now thinks sparked a mental breakdown.
Sam began to think that his mother was Nigel Farage and that President Donald Trump had asked him to graffiti his ‘big, beautiful wall’ between the US and Mexico.
In a new Channel 4 documentary ‘The Trouble With Mr Doodle’, he reveals that he had to be restrained by six nurses after he was sectioned in February 2020.
Sam Cox, also known as Mr Doodle, rose to fame in 2017 when a video of him using a marker pen to draw all over a shop was viewed 46 million times in one week on social media
The huge mansion was decorated both inside and out with the doodle-like drawings
British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, with his wife Alena, at a 12-room mansion he decorated with his artwork
Sam told The Sun: ‘I felt like I was in a game. You think health professionals and even family and friends are trying to hurt you.
‘Donald Trump or other celebrities took the place of other patients in the hospital for me.
‘I remember thinking my mum was like Nigel Farage.’
Sam, who grew up in Kent, spent six weeks in hospital and has now fully recovered.
Speaking about his ‘Doodle House’ project back in 2022, Sam said he was determined to finished it on his own.
He told The Sunday Times: ‘It’s the longest project I’ve done. I wanted to say I’d done it all myself.’
Sam 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, Sam gave every room its own theme.
For example, the hallway was covered with Noah’s Ark creations, while the stairs were decorated with Heaven and Hell drawings.
British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, with his wife Alena, reveals the Doodle House in 2022 – a twelve-room mansion in Tenterden, in Kent
Mr Doodle and his wife Alena outside their home in Kent which Mr Doodle spent two years covering every inch of with his trademark sketches
Sam 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 31-year-old explained that he used black acrylic paint and a bingo marker-pen in four different sizes.
Sam and his wife Alena previously planned 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.
