Charles Burchfield, Journals, July 5, 1947

—To country S.E. of E. Aurora sketching—

I tried in vain to find a subject on the spot—I had in mind doing something dark and mysterious, like a solemn Bach fugue—something to do with the dark interior of a tree on a cloudy day…but the country proved uninteresting so north again…and almost at once saw a promising maple. —Parked under some roadside maples, and found on second look, the tall maple, with an elm behind it, to be very good.

All afternoon on the sketch—exaggerating the darkness of sky & tree.

Charles Burchfield, July 5, 1947