What Does a Muralist Do in the Winter?
By Adam Hernandez
When people think of a muralist, they usually picture someone on a lift in the middle of summer, painting a massive wall under blue skies. And while warmer months are definitely peak season for outdoor mural work, winter is far from slow. In fact, winter is one of the most important seasons in my year as an artist.
While I may not be outside painting large exterior walls every day, the winter months are packed with planning, concepting, designing, and preparing for the year ahead.
Concepting and Creative Development
Winter is prime time for concepting new mural ideas. This is when I sit down with a sketchbook or tablet and let ideas breathe. Without the pressure of daily outdoor installs, I can focus deeply on creativity.
Every custom mural begins as a sketch. Sometimes it’s a loose pencil drawing exploring composition. Other times it’s a detailed digital rendering that helps clients visualize scale, color, and flow. This stage is where imagination meets intention. I’m thinking about storytelling, movement, symbolism, and how the final painting will interact with architecture.
Concepting is invisible work, but it’s essential. A strong mural doesn’t happen spontaneously on a wall — it’s built thoughtfully long before the first brushstroke.
Meeting with Clients and Planning Commissions
Winter is also when many clients start planning their spring and summer projects. Businesses review budgets at the beginning of the year, which makes it a natural time for commission discussions.
I spend a lot of winter scheduling consultations, visiting interior spaces, reviewing walls, and developing proposals for upcoming mural installations. These conversations are collaborative. Clients bring goals — brand visibility, community engagement, storytelling — and I translate those goals into visual ideas.
By finalizing custom mural designs in winter, we’re ready to move efficiently when the weather warms up.
Indoor Murals and Studio Work
Not all mural work stops when temperatures drop. Interior murals continue year-round. Offices, restaurants, schools, and residential spaces often schedule painting during winter because it’s less disruptive to their peak seasons.
Inside my studio, I also work on panel pieces, canvas work, and smaller commissioned paintings. This allows me to refine techniques, experiment with color palettes, and test new approaches that may later influence larger mural projects.
Being a muralist isn’t just about scale — it’s about adaptability. Winter provides space to evolve as an artist.
Professional Development and Preparation
Winter is when I sharpen the business side of my career. I update my portfolio, refresh my website, photograph completed murals, and organize content to share online. I review contracts, streamline proposal templates, and reflect on lessons learned from the past year.
I also research materials and tools — better sealants, new paint systems, improved projection methods — so when outdoor painting season returns, I’m prepared.
Rest and Reset
There’s another important part of winter that often goes unspoken: rest. Large-scale mural painting is physically demanding. Cold months allow my body to recover and my creativity to reset. That pause fuels better work when installation season begins again.
So what does a muralist do in the winter? We sketch. We concept. We meet with clients. We design custom commissions. We paint indoors. We plan. We refine.
Winter may look quieter from the outside, but behind the scenes, it’s where the foundation for every successful mural is built.