The 26-year-old Kent-born artist, whose real name is Sam Cox, is said to have started at the age of nine, covering his bedroom wall with paper doodles. His works have now morphed into so-called ‘Graffiti Spaghetti’ where his child-like creations cluster together in hypnotic patterns.
He often posts videos of himself creating them with his signature thick black marker pen and his rapid and seamless technique is likely a large part of the appeal for his many followers. Commercially the market has seemingly gone up a few gears after he was ‘introduced’ to Asia in a dedicated Sotheby’s exhibition in Hong Kong last December.
Most of Mr Doodle’s creations are acrylics on canvas often with playful themes such as Jungle Book, the latest work to appear at auction. It was offered at East Sussex saleroom Burstow & Hewett (25% buyer’s premium) on October 14 with a £7000-10,000 estimate.
Measuring 18 x 13¾in (46 x 35cm), it was consigned by a vendor who was a personal friend of the artist according to the catalogue. After a strenuous competition, it was knocked down at £55,000 – the highest price at auction other than Kitty Candy Kitty from 2019, a work more than twice the size that sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong earlier in October for HK$1.2m (£94,760).
Not everyone may like his work, but surely 2.7m Instagram followers can’t be wrong?
