Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), Before the Storm, June 8, 1916; watercolor and graphite on paper, 13 x 19 3/8 inches; The Parisi Collection
Charles Burchfield, Journals, October 18, 1920
Monday, Oct 18, 2021
In these days we have reliable weather reports a week in advance; formerly “weather prophets” could tell a day or so in advance from the appearance of the sky. Now we are told a cold wave is coming in a week with storm & freezing weather. There is something sinister about it. The weather is calm, lazy & misty; not a sign of rain or wind, and yet we know that a storm is far away constantly approaching. It gives to this dead calm a sinister quality it would not otherwise have.
At dusk I took a short bicycle ride. On all sides there are bon-fires – strange lurid patches with dark figures in front of them. At an old house on Mud Street a negro couple stood in a tall black doorway and talked.
Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, October 18, 1920