Charles Burchfield, Journals, October 19, 1963

October 19 – Saturday

Warm; hazy sun-filled day – Dreamy legendary weather-

a.m.  – in studio – drawing plans (to scale) of the bins for the shed, and also new ones in the south end of the studio –

p.m. – painting of  the scene outside the studio door – It started with just a feeling that I ought to paint something – I went outside and looked in various places but nothing seemed to be worth doing – I went in the studio, and looked out – the pin-oak was a blaze of hot orange and tan; surely that is something to paint, I thought and went outside to see it better – it was beautiful but it’s interest had evaporated – So resignedly I went back into the studio – this was not a day to paint – but again the pin oak was more beautiful – this time I saw it in conjunction with the rich mauve and bright pink petunias in the flower-box – and with the darkened neutral-toned interior of the studio as a foil or frame –

So I set about painting it – It was necessary to move the work table away to make a place for the easel – when I did this my carafe of cold water fell to the floor shattering the glass interior to bits.

I almost felt like abandoning the sketch, but concluded that would not restore the jug –

By the time it was three o’clock and I know I had but an hour or little more of full sunlight – I made a few marks with charcoal – surely I thought, this is too complicated a subject for so short a time – but then I realized my only reward would be frustration, so I went to work determined that the whole thing must be painted in the little time allotted – no holdover so as to finish another day.

By 4:30 it was finished

When I took it into the house I found Martha visiting with Bertha – both of them thought the sketch very good – and unusual.

As I look at it now, near midnight, I see that it needs some refining, but also that the necessary speed with which it was executed, forced me use effective short-cuts that would never have occurred to me, had I more time.

Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, October 19,1963