The City Pulse Mural started with a single question: What does a city sound like when you close your eyes?

The Brief

The client — a co-working space in downtown Manhattan — wanted something that would energize the space without being loud. They wanted people to feel the city’s pulse, not be overwhelmed by it.

Sketching the Vision

I spent three days walking the streets of the neighborhood, photographing details: a manhole cover, the pattern of fire escape shadows, the geometry of scaffolding. These became the building blocks of the composition.

The sketch process was loose. I worked in charcoal on large paper rolls, letting instinct guide the forms. Five iterations later, the composition clicked.

The Palette

Urban environments are surprisingly colorful beneath the gray. I drew from:

  • Steel blue and concrete gray — the structural backbone
  • Warm red-orange — the human energy within the city
  • Patches of green — nature’s persistence through cracks

Execution

The mural spans 40 feet. Working at scale requires a different mindset — what looks like a thin line from six feet away needs to be four inches wide on the wall.

I worked in sections, completing each area before moving to the next, ensuring consistency across the entire surface.

“A mural isn’t decoration. It’s a conversation between the art and the people who live with it every day.”