Robert Indiana kept a series of illustrated journals during the late 1950s and 1960s, in which he discusses the development of his work as well as his daily life on Coenties Slip.

In his journal entry for August 7, 1962, Indiana records a call from Stephen Durkee, who invited him to visit Garnerville, New York, where he had moved. He writes that he had intended to make it a straight-through work week, and was reluctant to have his plans changed, but that he didn't want to get in a prolonged exchange about visiting them, so said "possibly [that] tomorrow would do." 

Indiana notes working on Marine Works, deciding that the numerals he painted the day before "must go, for [the] colors I chose, red for [the] small and black for the large, do not work out." He writes that he wiped off the black and that his absence would possibly give it time to adequately dry for the next step.

He then describes his evening, beginning with a tense dinner after J. (his partner, fashion designer John Kloss), threw a scene because Tiger (one of Indiana's cats) was on his new couch. After dinner Indiana received a surprise call from James Rosenquist, who wanted him so see his new painting. He went to his studio to see the work, and then they drove to Coney Island. He notes that they saw a patrol car upon their return, so Rosenquist ran up to close his studio window before taking Indiana home, where Kloss and a friend were still working.