Mural painting is unique. It’s not like working in a studio, where the art you make is so much a reflection of yourself. A mural is about making a piece of art that is meaningful to that specific place; it’s a reflection of the environment and the people around it, as well as a reflection of us both.
Our first taste of making murals was at the 1409 R Street block where we were invited to be a part of a larger development. It was a renovation of a whole block of buildings that gave an old piece of Sacramento a new life. It felt wonderful to be a part of a true transformation of space in our hometown. With the encouragingly warm responses from everyone that came by, we realized how much we loved painting out in the field with an informal audience. Having that kind of interaction with our city and our community was something we knew we wanted to experience again and again. We then founded our business, Lacin/Christophel Mural & Design, and decided to see what would happen if we kept painting.
We feel that the success of what we do lies in striking the right balance, creating art that is both high quality and digestible. On the one hand, it’s crucial for us create art that is meaningful and inspired and classically beautiful, but so often a mural also needs to communicate specific messages and resonate with a wide range of audiences.
Pursuing art in our personal lives we have each developed specific artistic personalities that we now apply to our partnership. Hennessy makes intricately illustrated books and Sofia creates bold abstract paintings. The way we work and paint reveals a lot about who we are…Hennessy has a delicate attention to detail and a supreme patience, whereas Sofia brings spontaneity and breathes life into carefully planned pieces through rapid brush strokes and vibrant color. Working together we have discovered that what is true in our friendship is true in our artistic collaborations; our individual perspectives create strengths that are complimentary.
The nature of mural painting is that it always happens in a unique space with all kinds of different conditions. With each new project, we need to be able to adapt our process, painting on a variety of surfaces, using different materials and sometimes working unusual hours. It’s a really unique way to get out into the community, getting to know different spaces and new groups of people. We are always amazed at the power of art to connect people; it’s something we experience first hand all the time.
We feel grateful to be able to contribute something to our community that feels different and fun while bringing people together. We look forward to continuing to work in Sacramento, spreading the presence of art in this city. You can currently see one of our designs as the image for this summer’s Pops in the Park concert series. Our next project is for Capital Area Development Authority, so come visit us while we paint on S and 7th for the month of June. It will be mural that’s all about the development of Sacramento, art, community, city life…kind of a perfect project for us don’t you think?