Many years ago, I painted a watercolor, titled "An Italian Landscape".  I've taken parts of that watercolor and arranged a new image.  And so begins "HILLSIDE CAFE, ITALY".  The hillsides behind the cafe are lined with rows of Italian Cypresses, and one of the rows helps tell the story of the cafe's chef, or cook. 

The Cypresses give the night sky an eerie feeling and...

...their moon shadows add to the mood.

I'm doing the cast shadows of the utensils while I still have paint mixed from the rear hillside.

Here's the entire background.

There probably isn't a good Italia cafe using Kraft parmesan cheese, but I like the container and the nostalgia it evokes from my childhood.

The salt shaker reflects the world around it.

The tomato gives color to the night and visually keeps the viewer's eye heading back to the focal point (the cook or the chef or the clean up man).

I've moved on to the lasagna box, detailing the lettering.

Here's an overall look at the canvas.

The top of the box gets a light range of values, created by the moonlight.

The onion serves the same purpose as the tomato, making sure that your eye heads back to the man in the box.

The sidewalk, curb and street have light cast on it from the cafe window.

The parking meters have highlights from both the cafe window and the moon.

 
The outside is blocked in and the interior scene awaits the attention.

The light source in the cafe, a ceiling fixture, creates the dramatic lighting.

The simplicity of the design in the cafe helps create a quiet feeling in this painting.

The painting reaches its half way point, everything covered with one layer of thinned oil paint.

The final passage of paint (straight out of the tube thickness) begins in the background.

The serenity of the night (even with the whimsical line-up of kitchen tools) is set.

I've warmed up the tomato a little from its first passage of paint.

Because of the light reflections in my studio, this photo allows you to see the thickness of the brush strokes on the salt shaker.

This onion is ready for the next meal.

I've finished the lettering on the box, one of my old design skills that I learned back in college.

The street and sidewalk get a coat of paint, with special attention given to all the shadows and light.

Here's a photo of the lower right side of the canvas.  Notice the glow on the onion as it gets some reflected light from the sidewalk.

With a very small brush, I've rendered the cafe interior, and give you...

..."HILLSIDE CAFE, ITALY".