I’ve painted murals for clients, businesses, and other people’s spaces.
But this time, I had a different client:
Me.
For years, I’ve had a small, square-shaped party door on my garage that I’ve wanted to paint. We’ve lived in our house for a few years now, and I always knew I wanted to turn that blank door into something meaningful. I just had to figure out what.
Eventually, I knew exactly what I wanted to put there.
What Exactly Is a Chicago “Party Door”?
If you’re from Chicago, you probably know what I mean when I say “party door.”
For those outside of Chicago, let me explain.
A lot of homes in Chicago have detached garages located behind the house. On one end of the garage is the larger garage door where you pull your car in. On the other end, there’s often a smaller door that can slide or lift upward.
That smaller door is commonly called a party door.
It gives you easy access to the garage and all the stuff you might need when you're hosting a backyard gathering, party, cookout, or just spending time outside.
They’re a pretty familiar part of Chicago architecture, particularly in the city.
And I had one sitting there completely blank.
I knew it was the perfect canvas.
From a Comic Book Panel to a Mural
The idea for this mural actually came from one of my existing artworks.
For my solo exhibition Onion City Memories, I created a series of nine paintings accompanied by nine one-page comic book illustrations. The paintings told one story, while the comic pages provided another layer of narrative and world-building behind each piece.
One of those paintings was called Lakeshore Dreams.
The painting depicts one of my characters asleep at a desk, drifting into a surreal dream. Inside that dream, reality gets a little strange. There are whales flying through the sky, Pokémon, and other elements that blend fantasy, nostalgia, and imagination.
There was also a Palestinian flag illuminated by a lamp, intentionally drawing attention to the flag and what it represents.
For the accompanying comic illustration, I took that concept in a more peaceful and poetic direction.
One of the final panels featured a child standing in front of a beautiful green field beneath a huge blue sky. A Palestinian flag was draped around his shoulders as he looked peacefully toward the landscape.
That image always stuck with me.
Why I Chose This Image
I'm a Palestinian American artist based in Chicago, so Palestine naturally finds its way into my work.
But I didn't want this mural to feel angry.
I wanted it to feel peaceful.
The original comic page included a poem that I wrote, and the final line read:
“In my Lakeshore dreams, Palestine will be free…”
That final image of the child standing peacefully in the field felt like the perfect visual representation of that idea.
So when I was finally ready to paint my party door, I kept coming back to that panel.
I realized that this wasn't just a random illustration I liked.
It represented something I cared deeply about.
It represented hope.
It represented freedom.
And it represented the ability to imagine a peaceful future even when reality can be anything but peaceful.
So I decided to take that comic book panel off the page and put it on my wall.
Turning the Party Door Into a Mural
One of the things I love most about murals is the way they can completely transform an otherwise ordinary part of a building.
A garage door is functional.
A party door is functional.
But there's no reason it can't also be art.
The square shape of the door actually worked perfectly for the composition. I was able to take the original illustration and adapt it to the larger format while maintaining the peaceful feeling of the scene.
What started as a single comic book panel eventually became a permanent part of my home.
And honestly, that's one of my favorite things about this project.
I've spent so much time creating artwork that ends up in galleries, exhibitions, collections, businesses, and other people's homes.
This time, I got to make something that I would see every time I walked through my own backyard.
I was finally my own client.
From Canvas to Walls
This project also reminded me why I love working on murals in the first place.
When I paint on canvas, I'm creating an object that can eventually hang somewhere.
When I paint a mural, I'm creating something that becomes part of the environment itself.
The wall becomes the artwork.
The space becomes part of the story.
And in this case, a small piece of Chicago architecture became a canvas for a story that started as a comic book illustration.
That's what makes murals so exciting to me.
You don't necessarily need a massive wall or a huge commercial building to create something meaningful.
Sometimes, all you need is a blank door.
Want Your Own Custom Mural?
This mural may have been for me, but I'm also currently taking a limited number of custom mural commissions in Chicago and the Chicagoland area.
If you're a homeowner, business owner, landlord, gym owner, restaurant owner, or anyone else with a wall that could use some personality, I'd love to hear what you have in mind.
You don't need to have the perfect idea figured out either.
We can start with a conversation about your space, your vision, and what you want the artwork to communicate.
From there, I'll help develop the concept and turn it into a custom mural designed specifically for you.
Have a wall that needs some MUDDY magic?
Reach out and let's talk about your project.
And if you want to see how I transformed my own Chicago party door from a blank piece of wood into this mural, check out the full process video below.
Watch the full mural process on YouTube →
Until next time,
MUDDY
