The last quarter of the year has always been my favorite, so choosing this poem was easy. It gave me such a clear image of what I wanted to illustrate from the moment I read it. I could show all my favorite parts of winter, just like how my last poster was about my favorite parts of summer.

But like usual, my perfectionism got the best of me. I really struggled to get it done. After staring down my drawing tablet for hours on end, everything about the poster felt wrong. So I thought back to what I saw in my head when first reading the poem: a glowing winter night, the warmth in snow, and rainbows hidden in white. It all came together in the final hour, and now I have something I’m really proud of.

I’m really glad I chose Gannon’s as my subject for this poster. I went there all the time as a kid to get ice cream on hot summer nights. Sitting outside surrounded by community and staring up at a late sunset, that’s what I thought of when reading the poem.

The goal was for my poster to be fun, vibrant, and full of life, so I used bright pinks and yellows, along with multiple textures so the whole piece feels active. I got to experiment a lot with new digital painting techniques for this, and it was a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to making similar art in the future and using it to engage more with my community.