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 May 6, 1961, Indiana notes that it was a damp, cold day, with the sycamore trees "burgeoning in a tawny browness," and that "it remains a distressing season to most of the commentators, whereas I find it my first real spring since I’ve been in NYC." He writes that he went to Third Avenue for supplies (canvas and paint), and that he stretched a new canvas on stretchers of one that J. (his partner, fashion designer John Kloss) had burnt. He also notes starting on two columns, one red, and one green, sketches of which appear on the page.