I was drawn to the noontime aspect of the poem, because I like to paint light. Noon light is very bright, and it's one of the nicer times of day in Syracuse.

I took photographs, did a lot of sketches, then narrowed it down. I knew I wanted to skew the perspective, so if you notice, the statue and the figure are not in proper relation. And she's not really on the ground. She's sort of floating in the summer air.

I like the expression she has, and I like the color, the bright color. It's the embodiment of a bright summer day. She's really happy and smiley. It's the nice part of Syracuse, the part I like to think of, when it's, like, six degrees outside.