I was very inspired by Arthur Flower's haiku and, especially, that feeling of warmth within a Syracuse winter that he depicted. Much of my work involves children, and I knew upon reading the poem the exact piece that I was going to paint.

In this, it was important to me to portray an image that was both universal and, yet, close to the heart of Syracuse. To do so, I combined a view of Clinton Square with that of a child sleeping in her bed. In the end, the piece is both warm, in imagery and color, as well as covered in our famous and infamous Syracuse snow.

It was an honor to participate in this project and I hope that my painting will resonate with anyone that truly knows how warm Syracuse can be.