SPRINGFIELD -- We're used to seeing live action, bright color and drama inside movie theaters. Now, a hometown artist known around the world is turning the drab outside wall of a theater into a source of wonder. Susan Sommer-Luarca is working on the back of the Campbell 16 Cinema that faces Campbell Avenue, three blocks north of James River Freeway (U.S. 60).
It looks like a bland, grey wall of cinder blocks. Sommer-Luarca sees a canvass: a huge place to paint her dual passion.
"This is pretty exciting to me," she said. "I used to tape pieces of paper together to make things bigger so it's a natural way for me to draw."
While it looks like chalk, Sommer-Luarca is brushing the walls with white paint. She works from sketches.
"I can't really see what I'm doing when I'm up close so, every little bit, I swing out and get a good look at it and swing back in so, if I'm going the wrong way, I'll know."
"This horse is a little more elevated than that horse because of the position he's in. He's lifting up and turning around. He's digging and turning, so he's lifting himself up. He's a little bit higher than the horse before him, who's just coming into this turn."
It's not chance that horses will dominate this mural. Sommer-Luarca grew up with them. She wants to draw attention to the shrinking number of wild ones.
"I wanted the horses to be coming at you from the center. As they hit you in the center, they start scattering. So these are coming this way and the others the other way as if they're going around these trees."
This art project is longer than a football field, goalpost to goalpost. Sommer-Luarca hopes to make her final brush stroke in three weeks.
This artist's secret to getting it done fast is using both hands to paint.
"It comes in very handy because it helps with speed and getting in odd areas. It helps a lot."
When the horses live in bright color, Sommer-Luarca knows what she wants adults and kids to think.
"I want them to see the mural and think about it and how important these animals are and how beautiful they are and how we need to protect them. And when they get up close, they'll realize it's a lot bigger than they thought from the street."
Sommer-Luarca plans to have school groups come out and watch her paint, and ask her questions, next week.
This mural just adds to her resume, which includes being the official Olympic artist for these past Olympics in Bejing.
Watch Susan on NBC News About her Current Mural Project
