Mr Doodle creates masterpiece with schoolchildren

14 hours ago

Alexander StevanovicEssex

News image — Sam Cox, known by his moniker Mr Doodle, helped children get creative at the primary school

ALEXANDER STEVANOVIC/BBC Mr Doodle is standing on one leg by a mural which is mostly covered by all sorts of colours and images of smiley cartoonish looking characters. There is a ladder with paint cans on it, in front of the mural. — Sam Cox, known by his moniker Mr Doodle, helped children get creative at the primary school

Schoolchildren have been creating art for Comic Relief under the guide of one of Britain's quirkiest illustrators.

Mr Doodle, whose real name is Sam Cox, encouraged pupils to get creative by getting them to paint on a white mural at Warren Primary School in Grays, Essex.

He drew various types of smiley, cartoonish characters with big noses to allow children to colour them in.

The illustrator, from Tenterden in Kent, said the school had done "really well" raising money for Comic Relief and visiting was a way of "saying thanks".

ALEXANDER STEVANOVIC/BBC Two schoolchildren can be seen facing the camera, wearing comic relief noses that have had their own colours and designs drawn on. Schoolchildren can be seen in the background drawing on the mural with Mr Doodle watching on. — Children at Warren Primary School helped paint the white mural

Children also drew random images on paper-covered tables in the school hall as well as on their plastic-free red noses.

Lara, 11, drew a picture of the planet Saturn on her red nose because she loved space and the planet "stood out".

"I drew this because the message behind it is it's OK for me to stand out in a crowd and to be different," she said.

Azariah, eight, who was a "keen artist", said he was very excited to be drawing on the mural and "loved peregrine falcons".

ALEXANDER STEVANOVIC/BBC About 20 schoolchildren are sitting in a school hall around two separate tables, wearing their own red noses. The tables have doodles on them and paint pens. The floor is a light coloured wooden floor — Children also drew their own designs on tables in the school hall and designed their own red noses

Reuters Mr Doodle is standing on the balcony of his home, with his wife
His house is covered in black cartoonish drawings against a white background
His roof is the only part that has not drawn on. — In 2022, Mr Doodle doodled over all the inside and outside walls of his house in Tenterden, Kent

Other celebrities who are launching this year's Red Nose Day, which takes place on 20 March, include actors and comedians Ellie Taylor, Iain Stirling, Jodie Whittaker, Joe Lycett and Natalie Cassidy.

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

His story began when he started doodling on his parents furniture. In 2022 he covered his entire house with doodles.

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