"WALKING THE DOG" will be my next oil painting. I'm going to depict a man and a woman on a street corner, stopping to get a cup of coffee from the local coffee shop. They are both in the process of taking their dogs for a walk. The Fisher Price pull toy dog above is the main dog in the painting.

Here are two more dogs that will appear on the sidewalk just outside the coffee shop. The rubber squeaky toy on the left will be gathering around the fire hydrant with his buddy, "Wiggle-Me", who is atop his red box.

These RCA dog ("Listening to his master's voice") style salt and pepper shakers will also be waiting patiently for their master to continue with their 'dog walk'.

This auto parts store (from an old photo I took 20 years ago) will serve as the background building with the corner coffee shop. I used this building for a coffee shop many, many years ago.

This magazine "Our Dogs", along with the rawhide chew bone and rubber ball will be laying on the street in the foreground of the painting.

Our neighbors, Trish and Graham, have just posed as the 'dog walkers', and were the perfect models.

I've stretched double primed linen on 50"x50" stretcher bars and have started painting elements in the background building.

You can see the linen canvas showing through this thinned out paint layer, and the movement of the brush marks.

I've continued to paint the building. This is a detail of the right side of the building. Notice how the paint strokes go into the post of the stop sign. The stop sign and post will be painted over the edges of these strokes of paint.

Here's a section of the building with the door into the coffee shop.

The building is completed with its initial wash.

I've clamped a tray onto the side of the canvas to hold my squeeze toy prop. I'm also using a photo that I took outside as reference.

I painted the street light pole along with the dog toy.

The 'Wiggle-Me' toy, sitting on the edge of my clamp on tray with the completed facsimile in the background.

Here's the little guy!

The Fisher Price pull toy is now complete. I'll continue to paint all the other objects, there not being any options to their colors. I'm leaving the two figures until last, so that I can look at the overall color of the painting and then decide what colors to choose for their clothing.

The two porcelain salt and pepper shakers.

Here's a look at the entire canvas so far.

And now with the asphalt in place.

I've worked out the magazine details...5 cents!

The rawhide chewbone and ball now compliment the magazine.

Trish is in place. Now for Graham...

Trish and Graham! All the elements have been painted. Now I will study the painting as a whole and make the final decisions as to color and value.

Here's the painting at the end of the first stage. Excuse the glare on the upper part of the canvas from my overhead lighting.

I've started the final application of paint in the shadow areas on the building.

The entire building is painted.

Here is a detail looking into the coffee shop window. Notice the brush strokes that overlap the mailbox, assuring that the mailbox will overlap the building behind it.

Here's the clock above the awning. The shadows on the building will become darker and richer in value when I apply some varnish on them later.

I've painted the street, changing the haphazard brush stroke pattern to indicate the oil/tire pattern created by the years of traffic.

The magazine, chew bone and the ball are finished.

A finished detail of the street sign...

...and the mail box.

The fire hydrant is finished. Its cast shadow will be put in later when all the objects on the sidewald are completed.

The squeeze toy has its final layer of paint.

"Wiggle Me" is freshly painted. I love the goofy look on this dog's face.

The handsome couple are freshly painted.

The 'other couple' are also completed.

I painted the sidewalk and curb and "Walking The Dog" is done.