Hi, my name is Pete Jarvis, also known as The Doodle Monkey.
All of this madness started in early 2011. It was then that work, life and financial pressures took it’s toll and I lost everything I had worked over twenty years for. I had suffered my worst episode of depression, an illness I have suffered from since the age of twelve. To help me become well again, I started creating doodle art as a way of staying centred and focused. It worked.
It took the following year, and a lot of listening to the mad monkeys in my head, for me to begin my recovery and to start feeling normal again.
In 2013 I began to create more artistic mad, crazy black and white doodles as a way of escaping from what I was going through. It was then that I had the idea of the Doodle Monkey and The Monkeys in my head. Even though I had been through a lot of negativity in previous years, I wanted to stay positive and change my life for the better.
After getting a lot of positive comments and compliments from friends, family and the on-line community after they had seem my first ideas, I decided to start creating a series of 100 colouring books to continue my recovery and give my life a new purpose. This is the very first one.
Along with my son Bayley, we are putting together this website so, if you can’t afford the full books, you can still buy some of my crazy doodle art to colour and collect.
We will be adding new doodles every week until the 100 books are completed.
About my books
My crazy colouring books contain true doodle art. They are unplanned and are my subconscious, natural process. They are straight from the monkeys in my head.
Each printed book has been published here in the UK using ethically sourced materials. The cover is 300gsm artboard with a Matt UV protective cover. Each page is printed black and white on 100gsm bond paper which allows the use of various media including coloured pencils, crayons, most felt tips (not sharpies) and some paints. You will have to test them first. 🙂
There’s no pretense. I am not claiming my doodles have zen like qualities, I simply want to create a fun colouring book you could escape into, whatever your state of mind and however you’re feeling. No rules and no pressure – go bananas!
I hope you enjoy my doodles and they make your day a little doodlier.
Peter Jarvis (The Doodle Monkey).