Charles Burchfield, Journals, October 10, 1916

Autumn Afterglow – Trees mostly bare or sprinkled with leaves – Sky blue luminous yellow blending to pink + blue at top – Trees a blackish yellow green, thinner against sky, with vibrating blue outline + white area next in – where branches are thickly netted the sky is wholly white –
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To look down a street towards the west the jagged outline of bldgs is common + black –
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In winter a tree on the water’s edge – Above the whole trees shows – the important limbs + trunk are heavy the smaller branches thick and lighter in value below the water only the trunk + main limbs appear – a queer clawlike thing
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In making portrait paint first the big impression masses + work just enough detail within each to give form -
Painting Trees 117. a blending tome of light on sunlight side to dk on shadow at top of color on light side put spots of white which is highlights of leaves –

Bloodroot blooming in Dutchman’s Pine-hollow –

Extract from Diary of March 29 1915 - “When home, a longer + denser blizzard whirls over the land as I watch it I see a streek of yellow light ripple down on apple-tree.”

People in Sun-light – In foreground

High conventionalized

In middle ground – The become patterns – arms + hands etc of 119. same [CD] became one spot – This in distance are merely color spot –

In drawing bldgs – draw main silhouette, then color pattern + within that draw architecture detail by drawing under side which is dark –

A haze day – sky rich yellow – all things in flat 120. planes which are blue in middle distance + blend out sat with yellow – The foreground is yellow around the edges of things is the haze represented by blending tones –

Charles Burchfield, October 10, 1916