Discoveries

October 13, 2022

No Space Left Behind

Listen to Today's Edition

Most children doodle, usually out of boredom.

British artist Sam Cox, however, is trying to elevate it to high art. He recently fulfilled his dream of doodling on every square inch of his domicile.

“I’ve always wanted to live in a completely doodled house,” he told the Washington Post “It feels the most natural way to create art for me, and the most instinctive process when I pick up a pen and just start drawing.”

Cox – who goes by the nickname “Mr. Doodles” – bought a 13-room mansion in Kent, southeastern England in 2019. Together with his family and friends, they were able to first convert the house into a “white canvas” for the artist to begin his work.

No surface has been spared: Bedsheets, toilet seats, kitchen, and even computer mice are all filled with various doodles, including squiggles, animals and aliens.

“It’s living as an artwork,” he quipped.

It took nearly 240 gallons of white paint, 401 cans of black spray, 286 bottles of black drawing paint and almost 2,300 pen nibs to cover the mansion. Cox explained that he doesn’t overthink his doodles and he continued doing them despite making mistakes.

He added that the project took almost two years to complete and was possible thanks to the coronavirus lockdown.

Even though the eccentric abode can be a bit hurtful on the eyes, Cox and his artist wife Alina – known as “Mrs. Doodles” – have no problem living there.

Cox added that he wants to encourage others to think of their work as more than “just a doodle” and to know that it “can take you far.”

Take a peek inside the Doodles’ home here.

This story originally appeared in the October 13, 2022 newsletter, Try, Try Again.