My "COP STOP" idea for a painting spawned out of this tin police car. It's cool graphics made it perfect for the focal point of a police-related image.

I decided that the police car would ticket one of the local citizens for parking in a 'police parking only' zone. That zone would be...

in front of "The Donut Shop". I've chosen a strip of buildings in Oceanside that I can 'convert' into a donut shop. The street light, awnings and 'high lighting' will give the image plenty of life.

Well, no painting about the police is worth it's weight in paint if you don't have a police officer, and in this case I didn't have to look too far to find a 'suspect' for my model. This is my youngest brother, Brian who has been in law enforcement for as long as I can remember. Although he is not a uniformed officer anymore, he came up with the perfect uniform to pose as my 'parking enforcer'. Stay tuned as I begin to put all the elements together...

Here is a mockup from foam board, that helps me visualize what the donut shop should look like in terms of lighting and impact. I've blocked in a blue sky to simulate the sky against the donut sign. It is obvious to me that the donut needs to be bigger and that the 'DONUTS' letters need to be cut out and dimentional.

I decided to start the painting with the police officer writing the ticket.

I've designed the signage for the store next door.

Here's the car blocked in. Notice that the driver of the car is not in the window.

The "Laszlo's Car Wash" promotion car is in place. By the way, you push the 'spring loaded' head of the driver down and the rear wheels spin...very cool.

Here is a view of the two cars on the street. I'm painting the cars first because they have to be these specific colors. I will base the rest of the painting's color on these two objects.

The street and shadows are painted next to 'tie down' the cars and officer to the ground...

Here is an overall photo of the painting. There is quite a bit of glare from the overhead lights so I will reshoot later. The two stores are taking shape.

Notice the scrubbing effect the first application of paint makes in the window areas. That will diminish in the final paint layer.

All the preliminary painting is done. Now, I will make the final decisions on values (lightness/darkness) and hues (color) of each area of the painting. The paint applied on this 'second coat' will be mixed straight out of the tube with no thinners or medium (ie. linseed oil, stand oil etc.).

The background buildings are completed. The large donut and the sky will be next.

Here are the same buildings with the sky painted with a slightly darker value, which makes the buildings 'pop' in the sunlight.

And the donut...plain, no icing...ready for dunking!

Today I painted the building it's cream color, both the sunlit areas and the shaded areas.

Here's an overall look at it. Next I will paint the signage and awning, moving down into the window areas after that.

For those of you who have emailed me and asked for a peek into my studio, here is a shot of my back wall in my painting area. Lots of props that have either been in a painting or are waiting their turn...

Here's a close-up of the finished street lamps.

Look at the finished DONUT sign on the overhang. I love the powder blue color...It looks as edible as the donut!

I've painted the windows and doors on the shoe repair store much darker to make the police car stand out.

The windows of the donut shop are also darker to make the little tin man in the Car Wash car 'pop' optically.

The awning was painted, increasing the 'redness' of the hue.

Compare the finished 'Car Wash' car with the photo of it in it's initial stage two photos above. Notice the increased intensity in the hue and detail.

Patrol car is done. The only things left are Brian (the cop), the sidewalk and the street.

Brian looks good. The street and the sidewalk have been painted also...

That's it! Finished! A donut sounds good right about now!