Tom painted this after visiting Greektown in Detroit, Michigan. He wrote:

I got to this location early in the afternoon. I did this with backlighting. This way the people near the truck appear as silhouettes and the flags look as if light is showing through them. Shadows are cast from all of the objects. In addition, I used the technique of perspective (objects further in the distance become smaller), so it looks like you can walk right down the street. I also suggest using a car, person, or animal to add interest.