If you live near or on the seacoast, explore your landscape for ideas. Find inspiration from picking up pebbles, seashells and other curiosities on the beach. Notice that the environment already has its own abstract design in its combination of natural structures with those made by man. Take photographs or a small sketchbook to sketch your impressions of the landscape to provide visual material for ideas for your mural design.
Take a walk through your rural landscape and take some photographs. Explore the undergrowth to search for interesting patterns made by the landscape; for example, lift up a rock and notice the imprint the rock leaves on the ground. Collect leaves, wild flowers, berries, twigs, acorns, soil and other found objects to make a random collage, which could inspire your mural.
Explore the town or city, noticing the solid geometric constructions, the rhythm of the skyline, the artificial glare of lights at night, the contrast of bold colors and the rhythm of movement all within the urban landscape. Gather city images from photographs, postcards, magazines and newspapers and cut the images up to form an abstract collage for ideas to incorporate into your mural design.