Poster Image
$20
Item#: 2010SYR02
Purchase Details
11x17-inches, printed on heavy weight (100-pound) Hammermill cover paper. We package each print with a piece of chipboard in a clear plastic sleeve.
You also receive…
An information page with photos of the artist and poet, and hand-written comments from each.
Medium- and large-format posters are available by custom order. Contact us for details.
Poem Inspiration Location
Blue Moon, Big Dipper
poster information
Description
Blue moon, Big Dipper
Sunflowers under porch lights
Peace on the South Side
I work in Auburn, and when I come home to Syracuse, I drive in through the city. I like to take different routes. Sometimes, I'll drive through the south side, and there's a house on Colvin, I believe, where they plant sunflowers every year.
One time I drove by, the beautiful sunflowers were there, the evening sky was clear, and the porch light was on and welcoming. Just a moment, a nice moment—not about problems or crime in the city neighborhoods... So I tried to amplify that feeling and point out something that is there every summer, but maybe we miss.
I like painting the mood of a scene, and this haiku had an atmospheric feeling to it. I could visualize an image as soon as I read it. I wanted to do something with dramatic lighting, an evening scene, where the sun has just gone down. I like painting specific times of day, like early morning or evening. I love being around campus when the sun is setting, watching the shapes the buildings make with their shadows.
I looked around and took a lot of pictures of houses in Syracuse, trying to get the right silhouette. I wanted an outdoor scene with the porch, the light, and a calm, still feeling of home. I didn't want to include any people or movement. I just wanted stillness.