Doodle artist's film reveals psychotic episode

A doodle artist from Kent has talked about a psychotic episode he had in a documentary film about his life which is being shown at cinemas and festivals.

Sam Cox, known as Mr Doodle, rose to fame after he covered every inch of his Tenterden home with doodle art.

The film, titled The Trouble with Mr Doodle, explores his obsession with doodling and his personal struggles.

He said that "people just see the positive parts of what I do as that's what I share on social media, but this film goes into all the intricacies and the dark parts of my life".

Mr Doodle's popularity soared internationally after his videos on social media racked up millions of views.

He said: "I had a psychotic episode, the difficulties I had with Mr Doodle taking over.

"I lost sense of reality. I didn't know where I was or who I was."

His mother Andrea Cox said in the documentary: "As a mother the worst fear you have is of losing a child.

"Losing him mentally was just as scary.

"I think that Sam found himself caught up in a nightmare somewhere in some land that he had no control over."

In 2020, Mr Doodle was the world's fifth most successful artist aged under 40 at auction.

He said: "People might feel drawing is the problem. But really for me it was the solution.

"It wasn't drawing that made me lose my mind. It was trying to separate work from any other part of my life."

Mr Doodle painted a 16m-high (52ft) doodle on the side of a multi-storey car park in Ashford, Kent, in 2023.

He said of his personal struggles that they "could happen to anyone in any field of work, really".

He added: "I feel like I was born to draw. But I am a human being.

"I realised that I need Mr Doodle as part of my life."

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