My next painting will be based on a 'play on words'. I'm going to combine a couple of pull toys (toys on wheels) with a used car lot setting. If you look at the photo above, you'll see a building that houses the sales office, with its (soon to be colored) flags suspended between the sales office roof and a couple of light poles. On the left is a Fisher Price "Chatter Telephone" and on the right is a Fisher Price "Pull-A-Tune" xylophone. Note that both pull toys are 'phones' of some sort. You can see a white piece of cardboard standing between the two toys. This is where I will place the salesman. His job is to sell these vehicles, giving me the title of this painting... "Sell Phones".

Carol thought I looked like a car salesman, so she took the duty of going up the ladder with the camera and shot me as I went through the poses. I tried to look like I was a little bored and was on the lookout for my next customer.

The canvas size for this painting is 20 x 24. Here are a couple of steps, showing the toy phone taking shape.

Notice the significant change when the shading is applied.

I begin the xylophone by painting the note bars their respective colors. I've also painted the hammer.

Next I painted the wheels and the graphics that are in the shaded area of the toy.

With the shaded areas and cast shadow rendered, the xylophone takes shape.

Here's the pose that told the story...

Now a look at the whole canvas.

Signage is going in on the back wall.

Along with the flags and office overhang.

Here I am painting the blue accent color on the building.

This will help me determine how dark to paint the white part of the building which is in the shade.

The grays on the building vary from warm (closest to the sunlit ground) to cool (higher up on the building).

The dark shadow, cast by the building down onto the asphalt, makes the blue accent look lighter.

I've painted in a preliminary color (warm in tone) for the asphalt and I'm testing grays for the sidewalk.

The painting is now completely blocked in.

I've darkened the blue design and door on the back wall, making the figure stand out more.

Except for its cast shadow, the telephone is rendered in its final paint.

Here's what my palette looks like when I have to paint an object with many colors. Note that each color has four or five hues.

I decided to put a trash can in the background to the left of the door. It helps to keep the viewer's eyes from moving off the canvas.

All that is left to paint is the back wall, the colored flags and the salesman.

The salesman is ready for business.

The back wall and the flags are painted. When it completely dries, I will give it a coat of varnish which will bring out some of the colors that have flattened when they dried.

Until then, "Sell Phones" is done!