My highly curated list of mural painting essentials

besides all the paint and stuff

Hi! I’m on location this week painting a mural. How fancy does that sound?! ‘On location’ … and I suppose it is fancy, because it’s a good, long, 1.5 hour drive each way… alone. And that, my friends, in the days of carpooling 9, 10 and 11 year olds here there and everywhere every day, feels fancy.

Here she is!

I’ve had little time to write (because, painting. And driving!), but lots of time to think about what I would like to write about this week and I landed on this; sharing with you my mural essentials. Not the paint and the ladders and all that, because whilst that’s absolutely necessary of course, it’s the little things, the creature comforts, that stuff I’ve figured out I need with me in order to successfully paint a mural and come out the other side in one piece. Installing a mural is physically challenging and taxing for an intense 3-4 day period, so having this list of go-tos helps me enjoy the process and still be able to move the next day to go and do it all over again.

This list is in no particular order (although you could argue that water should probably be in the number 1 spot anyway) and I’m not sponsored in any way by any of these companies. But perhaps I should be *thinking emoji*

Ok, here we go!

1. Water bottle

   A rather boring start! But having a good water bottle that won’t leak on the way there and keeps the water cold, ice cold is absolutely paramount to a good day. Most people find a water bottle brand they love and just go all in on that. We are a Hydroflask family. We have a plethora of sizes and colors and we all have our own lid and mouth size preferences (why does that feel so weird to type?!) so it works for us. Plus the colors work for my personal color tastes. Yes, I’m that person. But in a world of a thousand water bottle companies promising pretty much the same thing, you have to choose something to steer you in a direction. And for me, it’s color and I’m going to hazard a guess here and say that not one of you is surprised.

2. Wireless headphones

   Obvs. No one else wants to hear my music/radio show/podcast/audiobook. I wear apple airpods, the regular ones. I don’t like noise cancelling anything. It only feeds my anxiety. I need to be aware of my surroundings at all times, just in case. Just in case of what?! I don’t know, but just in case all the same.

3. Dickies overalls

   And only Dickies overalls. Why? Because they are made to work in. I’ve tried a lot of different overalls and Dickie’s are lightweight and roomy and move with you and don’t get all stiff in the knees when you bend down. Just don’t go for the white ones. Trust me.

4. Kneeling pad

   Absolute game changer. Tried the knee pads for a while and oof, no can do. Not comfortable for me. At. All. This one is small, easy to travel with and even has a nifty little handle. Lovely stuff.

5. Engaging and enjoyable things to listen to

   Ok. This is a big one. Firstly, radio. I am a huge radio fan. Always have been, probably always will be. But not all radio is created equal. Oh no. I will not tolerate a radio station with adverts. Absolutely not. I’m particular about which shows I’ll listen to, because when you work alone, these people, these hosts and their crews essentially become your work pals, providing office banter and great tunes to keep you going. And you know what, the BBC always delivers. At this stage in life, I think I probably fit the profile of a classic Radio 2 listener. I always listen live and because of the 5 hour time difference, I’m listening to lunchtime shows at breakfast (Jeremy Vine every morning without fail), but also get to listen to shows that are broadcast later in the evening, like Jo Wiley - who had both Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn co presenting with her this week - and The Folk Show. AND… not to go on about it, but also, to go on about it… the BBC Sounds App has so many amazing podcasts (Desert Island Discs!), comedy shows (my dad got my hooked on Sorry I haven’t A Clue) and shows you might have missed (Fearne Cotton’s Sound of the 90s is a fave). And…. AND…. it’s FREE! Really, truly incredible. Check it out. It’s probably worth adding a huge disclaimer here that perhaps BBC Radio is more appealing to me as a Brit abroad and satisfies my cravings for those little bits of ‘home’ even if I’ve been gone for 16 years now. 16 years!

   Audio books also offer fantastic companionship when muraling. I like to listen at 1.5 speed otherwise I find the pace to make me a little lethargic. I listen for free through the libby app using my local library card. Some recent faves have been:

   The Last Story of Mina Lee - Nancy Jooyoun Kim

   Nothing to See Here - Kevin Wilson

   Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng

   Thunderstruck - Erik Larson

   The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck - Mark Manson

And then of course there’s the podcasts. Oh so many podcasts. I flit between genres but am particularly consistent with a few:

The Just Bloody Post It Podcast

Grounded with Louis Theroux

Maintenance Phase

The Business of Home

The Guardian’s Science Weekly

The Great Indoors

Talk Art

6. Chirp wheels

   Ok, now we’re getting to the real stuff. These Chirp wheels are probably the number one reason I can keep up with the all encompassing physicalness of mural painting. I have all 3 sizes and quite frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I use them all. They are amazing. An impulse buy during the early days of the pandemic and probably my best pandemic purchase! I use these delightful foam covered plastic wheels almost daily. An absolute must have. I’ve actually thought about packing them in my suitcase when we take trips….but I can never quite sacrifice the weight and space. I’m not far off paying for an extra bag just for the wheels though. Kidding?!

7. Compression socks 

   …Could almost pip the chirp wheels to the top of this list, but not quite. Mainly because they’re just not very sexy. But compression socks have changed my muraling life. In fact, I wear them most days throughout the winter even when not muraling. Pull ‘em right up to the knees and feel the hug of the socks all day long. Like spanx for your legs. Don’t knock ‘em until you’ve tried them. And you’ll be in your GP’s good books…they love to promote a compression sock!

   And some pretty obvious but absolutely critical items:

8. Good snacks + lunch

   Because there’s no stopping for long enough to run out and get something. Gotta come prepared. This week I made salads for lunch and snacked on RX bars, bananas and rice cakes. This sounds so well behaved…but see point 9.

9. Iced coffee

   And a donut, because I bought a salad from home for lunch so a donut is totally warranted at 8:15am. I’m not even joking. I found this thing called a coffee bun this week and now I know there’s going to be no getting the iced coffee without also getting the coffee bun. The largest iced coffee they make is my go to. I only really buy Dunkin’ when I’m muraling, it’s become a bit of a habit. And it’s got to be iced no matter the temp outside because muraling is hot work and am I pausing for long enough to drink it hot? No. No I’m not.

10. Spindrift / seltzer for later in the afternoon 

    I can’t be trusted to drink coffee past noon, but often want a little something that feels different and fizzy and fancy later in the afternoon. I’m a Spindrift girl, Lemon Limeade please and thank you.

    So there you have it! All my special tricks for creating the most amazing custom mural! If only it were that simple. If you’re new here you can see my work here. Thanks for being here! If you’re old here, you are here because you found me through my mural work - or perhaps even my quilting work before that?! And I love you for sticking around for the ride these past few years.

    Alright, off to put my feet up and listen to BBC Radio 2! Happy Friday!