The making of the Love Poem Garden painting

The Love Poem Garden painting is one of my most personal and meaningful creations. It all started with a small box of poems I wrote between the ages of 16 and 20. I’ve kept that box for over 40 years, even during a time in 2017 when I sold or gave away almost everything I owned to travel. Those poems were too precious to part with. They captured my youthful hope, desire, and sensitivity—expressing my feelings about love, romance, and God’s presence in nature.

Recently, I revisited those poems and was struck by how much I liked the innocent, hopeful girl-woman I was back then. Even more amazing was the realization that the same things still move and inspire me today. That’s when it hit me: incorporating my poems into a painting would be a beautiful way to honor them and give them new life. In doing so, I hoped this process would become a beacon of love for me—something to enrich my life now.

A glimpse into my poems

Here are two of the poems embedded in the painting:

Beauty

The beauty so fills my heart

it expands in loving pain

to grasp more than it can understand

and love more than it knows.

This is the way I feel

when a single star brings on the night

when I look at you

when I hold our son

…when I think of God.

Physics

Liquid fire

rushes head to toe

and suddenly

I’m very aware

of you

of me

No longer are you just

some man

chemistry acknowledges

a perfect solution

tingles and smiles

you look very good to me

Anytime you’re ready

I’d be happy to comply

with physics.

The creative process

The journey began when I found a large 5’ x 4’ screen-printed canvas on the side of the road. It felt serendipitous because just a week earlier, I’d been thinking about how fun it would be to paint something big. The moment felt so magical that I had my dad take a photo of me with it—it was such a clear example of how quickly manifestation can work when we’re unattached to the outcome.

I knew from the start that I wanted to take a mixed-media approach so I could incorporate my poems. I began by gluing bits of newsprint and colored paper onto the canvas—just scraps lying around my studio. Then, I painted freely over the entire surface with vibrant colors like vermilion red (a symbol of love and passion) and rich aubergine purples.

Next came the poems. I selected about 20 of them and collaged them onto the canvas using Liquitex Gloss Medium. Most were handwritten because they felt more personal and heartfelt than typed versions. Before gluing them down, I photographed each poem so that I’d always have a copy.

Once the paint and glue were dry, I covered some of the poems with frisket film, to protect them further layers of paint, drips, and marks that I would be adding.

I continued the process of intuitively layering paint and texture. Sometimes, I’d add paint; other times, I’d remove it using paper towels, sandpaper, or even hand sanitizer (rubbing alcohol). This push-and-pull created visual depth and texture that made the painting come alive.

Love begins to bloom

As layers built up, many of the poems became hidden under paint—though you can still see glimpses if you look closely. In some areas, I lifted paint away to reveal parts of the text below. Eventually, as I worked intuitively, several large flowers began to bloom on the canvas.

At this point during its evolution, the painting was invited to be displayed at the Street restaurant in Exeter, NH for six months. There, it kept company with other beautiful works from my studio mates at Art Up Front Street.

When it returned to me, I felt a need to reconnect with it. I resumed working on the piece, adding new collage elements—including handpainted tissue paper—to give it even more vibrancy and life. Slowly, the piece evolved from three central flower shapes into a colorful abstract garden. The vibrant layers of collage in the central area now represent a joyful garden of love, set upon a stabilizing field of green beneath a hopeful blue sky.

A colorful garden of hopes and dreams

The Love Poem Garden has become exactly what its name suggests—a lush garden filled with love and inspiration. It’s a celebration of my younger self’s hopes and dreams while honoring who I am today. By embedding my poetry into this layered creation, I’ve given those words new meaning—and created something deeply personal that invites others to reflect on their own cherished memories and inspirations.

As gaze at the finished Love Poem Garden painting, I’m filled with a sense of wonder and gratitude. This painting has become more than just a piece of art—it’s a living testament to the enduring power of love, creativity, and self-expression. Through this journey, I’ve reconnected with my younger self, honoring her dreams and sensitivity while celebrating the woman I’ve become. The process of creating this piece has reminded me that our past experiences, hopes, and inspirations are never truly lost; they continue to shape us and can bloom into beautiful new forms when we nurture them. My hope is that Love Poem Garden not only enriches my own life but also inspires others to explore their own cherished memories, to embrace their creative impulses, and to see the poetry in their everyday experiences.