The Wall Talks Back: Andre Jones on Painting Vegas Into Its Own Story
The muralist behind six of the Arts District's most-photographed walls on why the city is his sketchbook.
Featuring Andre Jones · June 30, 2026
“A mural is a conversation with the block. If you paint at the block instead of with it, the block will let you know.”
Andre Jones didn't plan to become a muralist. He was a graphic designer with a quiet Instagram and a habit of doodling on his own bedroom wall. Then a friend asked him to paint the side of her coffee shop for $300 and a year of free espresso.
That was five years and forty-two walls ago.
Why he paints in Vegas specifically
"People think Vegas is the Strip," he says. "But the Strip is a stage. The Arts District, the west side, Chinatown — that's the city. That's who I'm painting for."
His creative rules
- Sketch on-site, not in the studio. The light lies indoors. - Ask the block. He talks to at least three neighbors before he paints. - Leave one thing unfinished. A single unpainted brick, always. "So the wall knows I'm coming back."
On making a living from it
Andre still takes commercial design work two days a week. "The mural pays my soul," he says. "The design work pays my rent. I'm okay with that math."
His next wall goes up on Main Street in April.
Muralist and graphic designer based in Las Vegas. Painted six of the Arts District's most-photographed walls.
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