Hurley, Costa Mesa team up for charity

Jason Maloney’s art is no stranger to the city of Costa Mesa.

His artwork, which he calls “Tim Burton meetsDr. Seuss,” greets patrons at Wahoo’s Fish Taco on Bristol Street in the form of a mural encompassing an entire facade.

Now his hand will be seen in a reinvigorated piece integral to the city: its seal.

Costa Mesa approached Maloney, Hurley’s art director, about a charity project that features a reinterpretation of the visual representation for the “City of the Arts” on a T-shirt. Maloney jumped at the chance.

The seal incorporates Maloney’s recognizable linework and character, Tippsy the elephant. He ditched the sailboat and orange tree from the original seal, instead opting for two spray cans, headphones, a surfboard and skateboard — what he calls “pillars” of the Costa Mesa he knows.

“The stuff in there doesn’t really make sense anymore. The oranges exist only in the grocery store,” he said with a laugh. “Costa Mesa has a certain grit to it that I wanted to bring out.”

Costa Mesa-based Hurley and Maloney are donating their time to the project, which will use no city funds, said city spokesman Bill Lobdell.

“People who live here and work here know this is a unique city that spans everything from the Westside with surf companies to South Coast Plaza to the Eastside,” Lobdell said. “The idea is to let people get the awareness out past the city limits that Costa Mesa is a pretty vibrant and interesting place.”

The city plans to create 1,953 T-shirts featuring Maloney’s seal and sell them for $19.53 — a nod to the city’s incorporation year. The T-shirts will be available at https://www.ci.costa-mesa.ca.us in early February.

All the proceeds will go to benefit a charity chosen by Hurley, Waves for Water, which provides water filters for developing countries. A filter costs $50 and gives clean water to 100 people. Costa Mesa estimates it has the capacity to help about 20,000 people if all T-shirts are sold.

Lobdell said the city would like to start an artist series with other Costa Mesa-based companies giving their spin on the seal. The city hopes the partnership will urge locals to check out homegrown businesses such as Hurley that lend a lot to the community.

“This is the start of a big thing,” Maloney said.

joanna.clay@latimes.com

Twitter: @joannaclay