I was walking along Walton Street in downtown Syracuse earlier this week and saw a large painting in a window that captured my attention.

Just by Tyrone Johnson-Neuland.

The work is part of a “street gallery” curated by Midoma Gallery co-founder Marianna Ranieri-Schwarzer.

The piece is entitled Just by Tyrone Johnson-Neuland. It reminded me a little of the stock image I used for the cover of my poetry collection Sidewalk Stories (Kelsay Books, 2017).

I like the aquamarine space in the upper two-thirds of Johnson-Neuland’s painting with the running black horizontal and vertical lines.

And forgive my digression, but can anyone tell me if there is a difference between the colors Aqua, Teal and Turquoise? Or are the terms synonymous? I never know if I am using the correct color.

When I hear aqua or teal, I immediately think of the Miami Dolphins.

When I first noticed the painting in the window, the stenciled letter “Just” in the bottom right corner provoked a stream-of-consciousness fusillade of words that popped into my head.

Just by Tyrone Johnson-Neuland.

The first was “Just what?”
And, of course, “Just do it.” (Nike)

But then:

Just jump.
Just smile.
Just hug.
Just leave.
Just love.
Just care.
Just try.
Just live.
Just die.
Just f%$k off.
Just cry.
Just quit.
Just keep going.
Just(ine).

I love experiencing art in the city, and in this case, the work is an open-ended conversation whereby the viewer completes the piece that Johnson-Neuland so beautifully created.