Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), Eye of God in the Woods (Burchfield intended to change the title to Presence of God in a Woods in 1962), 1949-(1962); watercolor and charcoal on joined paper, 47 1/2 x 25 1/2 inches; Collection of the Vatican Museums, Vatican City; Image from the Burchfield Penney Art Center Archives
Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, December 29, 1914
Thursday, Dec 29, 2022
Yet it seems to me, if I could remember and put down my thoughts, I at least would have an interesting collection. Of late I have been enjoying romantic adventures of the mind.
The question of finances is persistent. I hate it. It turns my mind chaotically upside down. The true ideal seems false. - the beautiful unattainable. These are bad times for the poet. Courage! It is only one of Thoreau's steps, by which we ascend.
A thaw day with a freezing rain, and dense milk-blue distances. The air seems full of beautiful blue smoke - the haze of a warm winter day. It is blasphemous to love the drops of dew on the haze-blurred branches more than some formal religious idea? I say it is not. It may be said these are my Bible, the visible evidence of God - if so, I do love Him.
Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, December 29, 1914