When I was approached by the Kaplan family of Manhattan Beach to paint a commissioned oil, I asked them what images of mine they liked the best and "Ice Cream Man" was one of them. I immediately went 'shopping' for a vintage ice cream truck, since I try not to use the same prop twice. Luckily, someone was selling this very cool truck on eBay, so I snatched it right up! Most vintage 1950's tin toy ice cream trucks are completely white. This one had a red-orange front end on it and it really caught my eye.

Along with the ice cream theme, Cindy and Michael also expressed their love for fine wines. My first thought of Manhattan Beach, having surfed for all of my teenage years, was the pier, an iconic structure that has stood the test of time. Perfect pairing for the wine and ice cream.

Here is my Photoshop sketch, depicting the family of four (Michael (dad) is the ice cream man), walking this Southern California beach town with their dog, Toby. Cindy has found a glass of wine at a sidewalk cellar and their children, Holden and Lindsay, flag down the ice cream man. Nothing stops you in your tracks like the sound of music coming from an ice cream truck. They all decide to take a break from their walk (shooting some hoops and skateboarding) and have a frozen treat. Thus my painting title, "Beach Break".

I hadn't met the Kaplans in person when we first started out communication. Our first few weeks of getting to know each other was done via email. We set up a photoshoot out in front of my studio/home here in Laguna Beach. Michael nailed it with his 'Ice Cream Man' outfit! Lindsay posed perfectly with skateboard in hand.

Cindy and Toby posed in various positions. Toby looked so great sitting alongside that I have decided to use this snapshot.

Our photoshoot was set up to accommodate Holden, who will be attending Tulane University next semester. He loves basketball so we had him pose with one.

The canvas is composed of the finest portrait linen stretched on a wooden frame and is 38" x 38."

I've begun the painting by starting at the top of the canvas with a mixture of thalo blue, cadmium yellow and Permalba white for the sky. This mixture is thinned down with turpentine and applied loosely with a #6 filbert brush.

The ocean is blocked in with a thinned down combination of thalo blue, French ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow and white.

The waves are painted in with the same mixture as the ocean with thalo green and burnt sienna added. Next, I'll mix a white and a gray for the breaking parts of the waves, and then add the surfers.

Here's a close-up of the surfers in the water and on the waves.

There will be additional thick oil pigment applied to all areas of the waves and water surfaces towards the end of the painting.

My thumb, resting on the canvas, shows just how small the renderings of the surfers are. Their size will add to the perspective of the painting.

I'm continuing in the water with the pier. Very loose and suggestive at this point with detail coming later.

Slowly building the pier, the people on the pier etc.

I decided to paint in the bi-plane and its banner.

I'll block in the trees with hues of brown and green. After applying a solid layer of color, I'll go back and add some highlights and middle tones.

With the palm trees blocked in, I've started to paint the buildings, beginning with the Surf Shop sign.

The buildings are in place. Detail to come later.

Here's a look at the entire canvas. I'll move to the right side next, painting the bottle, glass etc.

Here is a photo of the still life of wine, cheese and fruit.

The bottle of wine is painted in with the turpentine thinned oil pigment.

The wine glass can show all types of reflections, which in this painting would detract from the focal points of the people, positioned in front of it. I've eliminated some of the reflections and softened those that I will use to make the glass a more simple object.

The ice cream truck is rendered on the canvas. I'll concentrate on the fruit and cheese next.

The green grapes are first on my list for the fruit, bread and cheese still life section of the painting. You can see how they start to define the outline of Cindy.

The wedge of cheddar cheese is defined, leading me to the red grapes next.

Here's a look at the entire canvas. Starting to look like a painting!

I reserve the rendering of the four subjects and the dog for last, as they are the toughest part of the painting.

Once I get everything painted with the preliminary layer of pigment, I'll go back over the entire painting, applying a rich thick layer of paint and bringing in the final detail of every object.

The red or purple grapes have hints of green in some of them. Also, the reflection from the sky affects the light color on top of the grapes.

The Bosch pear had more of a brown cast to it with a little red undertone. I decided to bring out the red in it to liven up the arrangement.

The wedge of swiss cheese has warm colors showing through its semi-transparent body, especially in the concave shapes of the holes.

Here is an overall look at the cheese, fruit and bread still life so far.

The baguette that Holden is sitting on is done.

I'll paint the cheese that Cindy is sitting on next.

The bleu cheese adds to the variety of the food still life.

Here's a look at all the food. The popsicle in the foreground will be the last object I paint after I paint the street. Then I will begin painting the family of 5!

The street is a mixture of burnt umber, French ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow and white.

This photo of the entire canvas shows the handful of elements (white areas) left to paint.

The iconic Popsicle wrapper is painted in a few steps. I first blocked in the graphics and then...

...painted the shaded areas with a mixture of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna to make the gray hue.

Lastly, I painted the light struck areas of the wrapper with a subtle gray and a highlight white to show that the wrapper paper has a shiny surface.

I've begun painting the figures with Cindy. She is the smallest figure in the painting and probably the hardest because of the small size. Her head is about the size of my thumbnail. All that said, she is looking great!

Her blouse and wine glass are finished and...

...now her pants and feet are completed also! Most of the time, I will simplify things like the striped pattern of Cindy's pants, but these pants fit in with the blue cheese she was sitting on and they are very cool looking also. Therefore, I worked extra hard and rendered all the details of the stripes. They turned out great!

Toby is now sitting with Cindy on the blue cheese. Such a cute little face!

Beginning on Holden, from the ground up. His basketball and tennis shoes are first. Notice the highlights and the shadows around the seams of the ball. Those details really make the ball look authentic!

I mixed a line of flesh tones and will begin on Holden's head. I think I captured his calm demeanor.

After painting his arms and legs, I decided to change the color of his shirt, since it was the same color as his mother's blouse. Tulane University green was the obvious choice.

See how the two different colored tops added to the overall balace of color in this area of the painting.

I've moved forward to the central figures in the painting. Lindsay will be first. Each head of the four figures is like a small portrait. Although there never is a promise that the final rendering will be a perfect portrait, I do my best to capture the pose and features of each person.

Lindsay's arms and tee shirt top are sketched in. Notice some of the subtle warm strokes of color in the tee shirt, indicating some reflected light, bouncing up from the street.

I've completed Lindsay. I've changed the color of her shorts for more contrast and a needed spot of red in the middle of the painting.

I've begun painting Michael. I'll work on his face and hands with a double ought (00) red sable brush and then use a #1 hog hair bristle brush to put in his clothing.

I've painted Michael's uniform, and with that done...

...the painting is half way done! All areas have been given one thin coat of paint. I'll evaluate all the hues and values and make adjustments in the final thick layer of paint. Additional detail will be added at that time.

Here are three close-up details of some beachgoers that I've added on the sand.

I've put in a few umbrellas and...

...added some additional folks in strategic spots.

I've detailed the facade of the buildings, adding brickwork and other architectural features. Compare it to the photo below, which shows the initial passage of simple oil washes.

I've painted the ocean, waves, sand, pier and the pavement on the street. If you look at the pavement and recognize that it is considerably darker than it was before its last final paint passage, you can see that all the cast shadows will need to be darkened to maintain the contrast between shadow and light.

I'm painting in the final pigment for the shadows. This will give me a better idea how dark to increase the values for the other objects in the forground.

Check out Michael's shadow, compared to Lindsay's shadow. Lindsay's shadow is barely visible after I increased the value of the street color.

With Lindsay's shadow completed, you can see and feel the sunlight.

All the cast shadows around the food, Cindy and Holden are in place. The shadows were a mixture of burnt umber, French ultramarine blue and white.

Moving on to the ice cream truck, I'll start at the top and work down. I just finished the roof of the truck, both the red and white awning and the top of the ice box.

The final layer of paint on the ice cream truck is finished.

Each element of the painting takes a day or two to apply the final paint layer, detailing every inch of the painting.

Here, I've finished the bi-plane and the King Medical Supply banner.

The palm trees are rendered in shades of green and browns with the trunks in the gray range.

Here's a look at the trees along the left side of the painting.

The popsicle has quite a few subtle values in the whites, which I painted with different hues of gray. You can see the soft bends and dips in the wrapper. The edge of the wrapper has its specific ragged, cut design, mimicked by its cast shadows on both the popsicle sticks and lower area of the wrapper.

The wine bottle is done. The photo picked up a lot of glare from the light texture of the linen canvas.

Not many changes to the wine glass. Just darkening all the deep purple areas and applying thick paint to all the other surfaces.

The grapes are fun to paint, treating them like a still life in a plein air painting...keeping the brush strokes free and juicy!

The wedge of cheddar cheese, the pear and both bunches of grapes are done. I incresed the intensity of their hues as well as their values, making this area really pop. I'll continue on next with the two other pieces of cheese and the loaf of bread.

The Swiss cheese is finished. I love the way the light shines through the holes.

The chunk of blue cheese is finished. Notice how the shaded areas of the cheese are warm towards the top edges of the cheese and then get cooler and darker as they get towards the base of the cheese.

The bread is finished and this only leaves me to render the skateboard and then the family. I like to do them all in a row so that I can balance their flesh tones, adding to the illusion that they are all in the same place with the same lighting.

I've loaded on the tube thick pigment, defining the bottom of the skateboard. Cindy will be next.

I've painted over every square inch of Cindy, adjusting the values, slightly changing the hues of the stripes on her pants and adding the final detail to her hair, facial expression etc.

Holden is finished. My preliminary coloration and detail was pretty right on, so I only had to thicken the paint application.

Here is a photo of my palette and the mixtures that I prepared ahead of time. These are a range of grays that will be used in the white clothing of Mike and Lindsay.

Notice all the warm and cool hues of gray in his clothing. Some areas reflect the cool of the sky and others show the influence the warm ground has on its color.

Those same grays are used in Lindsay's blouse and tennis shoes.

"Beach Break" is finished! I'll post a better photo when my photographer shoots a high resolution file.