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 Indiana's journal entry for July 3, 1961, which takes up two journal pages, he records that he finished working on the loft that morning, "making everything ready for action."  He discusses working on various canvases: tightening the large one that was slightly damaged and giving it another coat of gesso, noting "my themes are not set for [the] big two, but [the] style is now." Indiana also writes that he started a third smaller painting, which would also reflect his new direction. The entry includes a sketch of this work, Beating Hearts (Papa), with a note added at a later date indicating that the painting went to Noel Frackman (a friend, art historian, and art critic).

Indiana also mentions that he had seen Lenore Tawney the prior evening, and that she was leaving for Hawaii with a Japanese potter. He records that J. (his partner, fashion designer John Kloss) went out for an appointment, and that he had dinner waiting for him upon his return, and that they watched The Secret Six, a 1931 MGM movie.