How to Become a Successful Muralist and Nomad

Story by Irina Abraham, Photos by Irina Abraham, Justin from Mobile Dwellings, and Amy Nicole Hodges

So, you decided to follow your dreams. You quit your “serious” day job and moved into a camper. The road stretches far into the horizon in front of you, the wind is blowing in your hair. You got your spray cans, brushes, sketchbooks and your heart, flaming with the desire to live your best life as an unapologetically free artist. Now what?

Tim C. Abraham set out on his brave cross-country adventure after he had lost his day job in the shipping industry, which priced him out of his Jersey City rent. A quite common story for many during the 2020 crisis, Tim had been shell-shocked, contemplating his role as the father of a family with no job during a worldwide crisis. But along with the fear, something else had sprouted inside him: a long-suppressed desire for an adventure. With only an old gutted school bus to his name, he had moved his family into a tiny house in Pennsylvania and put his savings into converting the skoolie into a camper.

When the family first got on the road, they felt they had gotten away with something: they floated above a world buzzing with fear and anxiety and the taste of freedom was the sweetest ever. But a few months in, they realized that freedom, too, had its price, and the mundane kicked in: the job search began. After years of feeling stuck in an unfulfilling day job, Tim was steadfast in turning things around this time. His dream was to make money with his skills as an artist. He did everything right: posting on Instagram, writing to friends, and applying for jobs on Upwork. Those efforts afforded him a few commissioned canvases – but nothing much to buy groceries with.

No wonder (or wander), one would say! A full-time artist is a romantic dream from the 17th century when benefactors were in fashion, but today, being a full-time artist is for celebrities and people with hedge funds.
But you see, Tim used to be a salesman. He had spent years selling shipping containers and after months of fruitless attempts to get a job by lining up for gigs on LinkedIn and Upwork, he finally had his a-ha moment. He decided to apply his sales skills to his new career as an artist.
Tim planned out his travel itinerary and took a deep dive into Google, searching for businesses in the areas he was going to pass through. Then, armed with a list of phone numbers, he made dozens of phone calls a day, offering his services as a muralist. Seeing that his home was on wheels, his playing field was wide. Little by little, he got some appointments and eventually landed his first paid gig. And then another. And another.

The best thing about Tim’s endeavor to become a successful freelance artist is the feeling of being in charge. Instead of having to wait for someone to pick him among the multitude of talented artists, he takes matters into his own hands, and more often than not, he is the first in line.
The owner of the coffee shop in Breckenridge, where Tim painted his third mural, said that there were plenty of local artists in the area but no one had ever offered their services to her. Think about it: if you are a freelance artist and murals are a part of your skillset, you could be sitting on a goldmine of gigs right where you live! To become a successful freelance artist, all you need is some faith, the internet and a phone. Your neighborhood coffee shop or the yoga studio around the corner might give you your first wall.

Tim has so far painted murals in New York and Pennsylvania on the East Coast, and Colorado and Arizona out West. He loves seeing pictures of people in front of his art pop up on Instagram. At a winery in Colorado, Tim painted a wine barrel into his mural, which was double trouble for him and double the fun for the visitors to take pictures with.

Like any business owner, Tim has his ups and downs. Gigs can fall through and dry spells happen. But once he lands a mural, he has a huge smile on his face and the confidence that the next one would come. Being a full-time muralist is not for the faint of heart. If you want to succeed as a freelance artist, you will have to split your time between research and phone calls, follow-ups and more follow-ups, negotiations, sketching and finally, painting.
Painting a mural is a very physical task. Oftentimes, Tim has to go up and down a ladder all day long, balancing on the last step with paints in hand.

Once he starts a mural, he paints a minimum of eight hours a day, sometimes upwards of 10 hours. It is a challenging and tiring process but also extremely rewarding. After all, he is actively creating and sharing his creation as he goes. Strangers stop by to ask questions, the owners of the properties see their buildings come alive with colors, and the artist himself is amazed every time a blank wall transforms into a window into another world.
Once the job is done, seeing the happy smiles all around reminds Tim why he hadn’t tried to find another job in shipping and set out to prove that the life of a full-time artist was not just a dream – it could become anyone’s reality.

Learn more about Tim C. Abraham on his website: https://www.timcabraham.com/.