I sat down in my studio the other day and looked at all the tin toys I hadn't included in a painting. This ice cream vendor was one of them. I immediately thought about the neighborhood ice cream man but knew that I had painted that subject many years ago and I wanted to tackle a subject that hadn't seen the canvas on my easel.

I also looked at this metal airplane, whose unique design  has always intrigued me. I asked, "How could I incorporate both of these objects in some fun story?"

I decided that I could mesh the two toys, along with this toy taxi cab, into a scene at an airport terminal.

I could have my model be an airline pilot...at LAX!

Yes, LAX with a cool atomic era mid century terminal building. And since my vision was of a single story, low-key structure, with a 1950's - 1960's vibe, I would need to build it myself. In the scene, a pilot stops before entering the terminal and has a cool treat...a popsicle Dreamsicle, sometimes called a 50/50 bar.

I cleared off my packing and shipping table, found some scraps of foam core board, and began to put it together. After gluing the letters to 'INTERNATIONAL' on to the foam core board, I cut them out and mounted them to the building with toothpicks.

It was obvious that I would have to adjust the scale of the different objects to fit the scale of the building. As you can see here, the ice cream vendor towers over the taxi cab.

I drew the doors and windows of the terminal on the board with a felt tip marker and brought the building outside in the sunlight. I also had decided to use an old Popsicle wrapper and cardboard ice cream as a prop for the Dreamsicle.

My golf buddy, Phil, is the pilot in this painting. I've painted a number of my friends and golf buddies, and Phil has always displayed the cool and confidence of an airline pilot. I used my retired Marine Corps dress hat once again to represent a pilot's hat. I think my models have worn it more than I had a chance to wear it back in 1970.

Phil looked perfect for the part when I showed up to photograph him. Just like I had imagined a pilot would have been prepared for take-off!

Here is a photo of the entire canvas. I've chosen to paint this image 40"x32" and stretched the finest linen canvas over the stretcher bars.

I'm starting in the sky with the sky color, a mixture of thalo blue, French ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow and white.

I've coordinated the colors of the 'LAX' globes with the letters in 'INTERNATIONAL.' First the green...

...then the yellow on the globe and...

...on the letters.

Here's a look at those two colors.

The orange was next and then...

...the blue.

The world globe and the two red starbursts are painted in as well as the...

...airplane. Notice how you can see through the windows.

The jet and its contrails are developed a little further and...

...the upper half of the painting is 'blocked in.' The paint applied in this early stage is thinned out with turpentine, painted almost like a watercolor. After the entire canvas has one layer of this thinned pigment, I'll adjust the values and hues with a final thick layer of oil paint.

I've begun to paint the building. Attention to cast shadows from the overhang is paramount. I've chosen an institutional green for the overall building color which will be perfect for the mid-century look I am going for.

I'm continuing my work on the lower part of the canvas, painting the 'TERMINAL 1' on the edge of the overhang and the various hues on the automatic doors, sidewalk and street.

The taxi sign is now yellow and black and the clock is roughed in.

Here's an overall look at the whole canvas.

As I've done on a number of tin toy cars in my paintings, I've added a wind up key to the side of the car so that it doesn't look like a real automobile.

That is all for today. This photo shows how far I've progressed throughout the lower half of the painting.

The taxi cab is done for now. I'll decide later what to put on the advertising board on the trunk of the car.

The ice cream vendor is next. I'll begin by painting in the detail on the tin figures clothing.

All areas of the ice cream vendor are painted with its first layer of pigment.

The final object to be painted is Phil, the pilot. I've included my thumb in the photo to show how small this portrait is. I've used 00 sable bright and round brushes to put in all the details of Phil's face.

Here's a closer look, showing that even though this is the 'thin' layer of paint, I've used some 'straight from the tube' thickness of pigment to get this initial rendering.

I've painted his hands and arm and begun to render his uniform.

All the folds and creases of his white shirt require subtle and some not so subtle gray pigment, comprised of French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, new gamboge and white.

The dark black shades of his jacket and slacks really set off the white of his shirt. Lookin' good, Phil!

With his flight case knocked in without much detail, the entire painting has been covered with the first layer of paint.

Here's a look at the entire canvas. Now, I will evaluate each area of the design, making mental notes where to increase the values. I'll do that in some areas with darkening the hue with color and other areas with addition of black or gray mixed in with the final layer of pigment.

My first final layer of pigment goes in the sky. I've altered the color to be comprised of thalo blue, new gamboge and white. It was the biggest passage of color in the painting, cutting in and around the LAX International sign.

I mixed up all the colors for the 'INTERNATIONAL' sign. Each color had three separate hues, one for the face of the letter which is hit with direct sunshine. Another mixed for the side of the letter that was in the shade and a warmer mix for the bottom of each letter, showing the effect of the sun reflecting light from the roof.

I had been pondering what to put on the advertising space on the rear of the taxi. My wife, Carol, suggested Disneyland and I went a little further and decided on the Disneyland Hotel. I looked at some old photos of the theme park and chose the monorail as an iconic Disneyland attraction to complement the recognizable lettering of the park and hotel.

Added a baggage arrow to the exterior wall today. Bringing reality into this surreal image.

Each ball was painted with 4-6 values of green, yellow and orange. The reflected light from the yellow ball shows in the lower right hand area and the warmth from the rooftop glows in the very bottom of each ball.

Notice the orange glow on the lower right hand side of this yellow ball.

With the three 'LAX' balls rendered, I'll move down the canvas and address the poles and the starbursts.

Here's a look at the entire canvas to this point.

The only elements in the upper half of the painting that hadn't been addressed were the airplane and the globe. I mixed up some thalo green, cadmium yellow and just a hint of French ultramarine blue and white.

The globe used some of the same green mixture that I used on the airplane and a thalo blue and white combination for the ocean.

The taxi is finished. I increased the brilliance of the yellow hue after looking carefully at the overall values of every part of the painting.

Time to move on to the ice cream vendor. I've finished his head and will move down his body, mixing the myriad of colors and grays for all the areas.

After a few days, the ice cream vendor is finished. I like the way the rivets and tabs tell that it is made of tin.

The Dreamsicle, with its little wrinkles in the wrapper, painted with grays made with French ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, white and yellow is done.

Figures are always difficult, and when it is a friend that is posing as the main character, it is even more difficult. I always want the likeness to be pretty close, where I don't worry about the likeness when I photograph someone passing by in the public domain. Phil turned out great, in my opinion, and really looks the part!

The pilot's briefcase is painted with five values of black. My mixture for black is burnt umber, French ultramarine blue and black. I add a little white to get the lighter shades and mostly white to get the highlights.

I painted a final 'heavy' layer on the sidewalk and a couple other areas and "LAX...LOL" is finished! Cool vibe don't you think?