Robert Indiana kept a series of illustrated journals during the late 1950s and 1960s, in which he discusses the development of his work as well as his daily life on Coenties Slip.

In his journal entry for August 30, 1962, Indiana declares it "a day wholly devoted [to] [the] studio and work." He records that he began the day by giving the central star of the painting "The President" (A Divorced Man Has Never Been the President) an additional coat, noting that he was still unhappy with the last application of cobalt. He documents giving the black ground of the painting "Tira" (The Triumph of Tira) a new coat, and repainting the fields of all the recent small 12 x 12-inch paintings. 

Indiana also discusses working on three constructions, writing that he gave Hole a second coat of cadmium red light and repainted the base sides red over the first black, and that he shadowed the letters of Orb with gesso. He includes a partial sketch of Chief, noting that he added stripes and the numeral "8" to the work.