Boise Artist Brings Holiday Cheer to Storefronts and Homes With Painted Window Scenes

Shoppers around Boise who look closely at the windows of their favorite local businesses this season may spot hand-painted holiday art. The work belongs to one local artist, MaLynda Poulsen, who is brightening storefronts across the Treasure Valley one pane at a time.

Poulsen taught college art for nearly a decade before the pandemic brought her back to Boise. She said she was unsure what to do next, and friends urged her to turn to what she already knew how to do. They suggested murals. After time away from the city, she wondered whether people in Boise would want them. Her friends, she recalled, answered with an emphatic yes.

That advice became M Poulsen Murals, the business she has run for the past three years. Window painting came later. Asiagos, a downtown restaurant and one of her clients, asked whether she could paint its windows, something she had never tried before this year.

Word spread quickly. "From there people started seeing them and really liking them," Poulsen said. She has since added more local businesses to her list, along with private homes.

One home project stands out for her. She created a special window scene for a woman whose young son was due home for Christmas, so that Santa would appear to be waving at him through the glass. Poulsen also praised the business owners who have hired her, including Luciano's, a locally owned establishment. "They are supporting local artists and I love it," she said.

Her designs range from reindeer and Santa Claus to classic winter landscapes. The part she enjoys most, she said, is watching people react. Some tell her they love the paintings, and a few have cried. "It's just really special," she said.

Poulsen said the cold weather and the festive imagery combine to give the area a winter-wonderland feel, and that she has valued the chance to make something pretty and cheerful for others. "It's the season for giving and loving, right?" she said.

With Christmas less than three weeks away as of Dec. 5, local businesses are encouraging residents to do their holiday shopping close to home. As people finish their gift lists, they are invited to slow down and take in the front windows and displays around town, where Poulsen's work and that of other creative artists can be seen.