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OC Weekly Cover

MARCH 22, 2012
Out on the streets today, the current OC Weekly cover created for Art Director Laila Derakhshanian. Laila was great to talk to and really easy to work with which made this job a breeze.

Full story here.
As per the brief:

"About the push for Laura's Law, a 2003 state law that allows a court, with input from health care providers and family members, to order treatment for the severely mentally ill. Counties must decide whether to implement Laura's Law. Orange County does not have it in place. For those over 18, no one can force you into treatment unless you are a danger to yourself, a danger to others or gravely disabled.

The focus of the story Matt Hoff, a mentally ill 18-year-old who was missing for two weeks. His mother, Jennifer, believes that Matt should not be free to roam the streets, sick and homeless, but there is nothing she can do because he has not chosen to receive treatment, and the laws protect his wishes. She will be going to Sacramento to talk to legislators and try to fight for his care."

Above are the sketches I sent over - even with an idea of a previous personal piece I did that could have possibly worked on some level. I didn't think they would go for it but I think you have to give even the more odder ideas a chance.

They decided that they really dug the first two pieces which were my favorites anyway and wanted a combination of the two. Got to love that!
After I got the final approvals, I did a cleaned up version for myself to transfer to the board. I originally thought that the figure needed to look more masculine which is why the facial hair but in the end, he didn't need it.

Even though the deadline was really tight and I had two other deadlines looming, I spent some extra time on these jobs exploring color, texture and other things that I am working into some current pieces. It may not be obvious here yet - because I didn't want to experiment too much on a quick deadline job - but I've been playing with some stuff that pushes me to grow a bit more. I am pretty happy with this painting on a few different levels and would like to thank Laila for the chance to work with OC Weekly.
© 2024 Scott Bakal