The latest remarkable project from Portraits of Hope is in the works and Image Options is lending a helping hand. Portraits of Hope was developed initially for seriously ill and physically disabled children. They conceive and develop one-of-a-kind motivational art projects that merge the production of dynamic public art works with creative therapy for hospitalized children and civic education for students of all ages. The Portraits of Hope program is aimed at enriching the lives of children and adults, many who may be coping with adversity or serious illness through their participation in creative, educational, high-profile, one-of-a-kind projects.

The Project
156 of LA County’s lifeguard towers from Hermosa Beach all the way up to Zuma Beach will be getting a makeover thru Portraits of Hope. For five months, LA’s legendary beach towers will come to life in vivid designs and colors – transforming the nation’s most recognized coastline. The tower artwork will be created on temporary, professionally installed, soft-material, and flex thin-board panels that will be applied onto the outer surface of the tower structure itself. The anticipated start of the 5-month exhibition will be May 1, 2010, and the installation will remain through the end of September 2010.

The Process
Image Options received 2,125 sheets of already die cut Coroplast which is about 85,000 square feet of material and 29,400 square feet of vinyl. The Coroplast is printing on their 10ft. wide Vutek QS flatbed printers and the vinyl is prining on their 16ft. wide Vutek 5330. The prints are of outlined patterns that will then be turned over to youngsters and adults who often face medical, physical, or socio-economic challenges to paint.

Check back here later this summer to see photos of these painted panels installed on lifeguard towers throughout LA County’s beaches.

VIEW: Lifeguard Tower Exhibition Part 2