This was the first poem I noticed, even after trying others, I just kept coming back to this one. Each word of the piece is so striking and full of imagery. It reminds me of Oakwood Cemetery, which is a beautiful place with a lot of life growing among the headstones. I like to take walks there because it's one of the best places around to see the stars.

When I began the concept sketches, I knew that to capture the right colors and contrast I had to use oils. Night scenes can always be difficult, but I really worked at perfecting the light coming through the trees. My original idea was to have the words spilling from the stars, but I found that placing them at the base of the painting was the best balance between the words and the image.