Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), Fireflies and Lightning, 1964-65; watercolor, graphite and white charcoal, 40 x 54 inches; Purchase made possible with funds from M&T Bank, an anonymous donor, William P. and A. Laura Brosnahan, the Vogt Family Foundation and the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, 1998
Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, June 24, 1964
Wednesday, Jun 24, 2020
Thunderstorms last evening — cooler & fresher —
All day almost without let-up on the Lightning-Bugs — practically completing the picture (the largest I have done at “one sitting” (40 x 54). A complicated lighting effect with lightning from a storm in the North flooding the whole picture as well as numerous lightning bugs “popping” all over the swamp.
It was with almost a childish excitement that at the end of the day, I began to remove the pieces of masking tape — the effect was startling and very successful.
Exhausted by the effort, I could scarcely judge what I had done, but Bertha reassured me and before the evening was done, I began to see that it had many good points as well as areas that need working over.
That at seventy-one I am able to sustain a creative impulse long enough to complete so large a picture fills me with the hope of doing my best work from now on — and with gratitude to God for giving me the power.
Charles E. Burchfield, June 24, 1964