The organic shapes of Source II relate directly to the work of Ellsworth Kelly, whom Indiana met in 1955, and who became a close personal and artistic influence on the artist. The work, painted on Homasote as Indiana was unable to afford canvas at the time, consists of two large avocado seed shaped images, like those found in his mural Stavrosis (1958). Created before he began adding words to his paintings, Source II‘s silhouetted and angled planes of color and plant-based forms show the beginnings of his signature hard-edged style, which he developed while living in Coenties Slip.
