Artist who covered his £1,350,000 mansion in doodles now working on town mural

Remember the guy who spent two years covering the walls of his six-bedroom, neo-Georgian mansion with black-and-white drawings?

Well, now he’s got a job painting street art in a nearby town.

Mr Doodle, whose real name is Sam Cox, made headlines last year when he plastered the surfaces of his £1.35 million home with his signature black-and-white drawings.

The artist spent a whopping two years drawing on his six-bedroom neo-Georgian mansion in Tenterden near Ashford, Kent.

He ended up having to use 900 litres of emulsion, 401 cans of spray paint, 286 bottles of drawing paint, and 2,296 pen nibs on the project.

Now, 28-year-old Sam is taking his art to Ashford town centre.

The artist will be transforming blank walls and building surfaces into mural paintings as part of a contemporary street art trail.

Sam studied illustration at the University of The West of England in Bristol where he’d spend 16-hour days drawing.

He opened a pop-up shop at Old Street station in east London in 2017, which is how he first became more widely known.

A Facebook live video of his art was viewed 46 million times in one week, and he slowly started building up an Instagram following too.

He now has 2.7 million followers, and owns his nickname: ‘the Doodle Man’.

He bought a home in the town of Tenterden, where he was raised, in 2019, with the intention of changing the property into a ‘doodle-verse’.

In the end, no surface in the home was left un-doodled – every wall and ceiling was covered, as were the television, hob and even the bath.

Mr Doodle’s work on his new art project will start today, February 27, and be completed in time for the launch event on March 31.

And he isn’t the only artist taking part.

Sculptor Alex Chinneck and collage artist Andy Welland will also be adding their work into the mix, while local artists and students will also be able to throw their hats into the ring for a chance to have their work featured.

All of the artworks will be within easy walking distance of each other as part of the free ‘Mural Festival’ trail.

The trail is being set up by Ashford Borough Council (ABC), and it will run from 4pm until 10pm every day during the Easter holidays.

In addition to walking tours, there will be a live DJ, a film programme and family-friendly art workshops.

Cllr Nathan Iliffe of ABC said: ‘I am very excited to welcome so many brilliant artists to Ashford as part of our first ever Mural Festival.

‘Murals are an excellent way to showcase creative talent as well as redeveloping blank walls in town centres, making them more attractive and safer spaces to be in.

‘I hope that residents and visitors pick up their maps and take part in the trail this April and that people continue to enjoy the works for a long time to come.’

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

MORE : Artist covers his entire £1.35million mansion in doodles

MORE : Man started drawing book of animals and has taken more than 20 years to finish it

MORE : Couple get street artists to paint their entire house