Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

12.                Dec. 3 – (Wed.)

     When one is really absorbed in working and thinking it is impossible to keep up a journal.

     The last two weeks have been very busy and full of planning and study.

     Several days were spent in trips out to Varysburg country, resulting in no actual painting, but the constant absorptions of the Indian Summer weather finally bore fruit in the revival of my interest in “November” – a theme I painted in 1929, using the motive of complete negation and void. The picture was not successful because I attacked the idea of “void” from the literary rather than from the visual viewpoint. The result was not void, but anemia – both in form and color.

     The finding of a huge, gaunt dead tree at Star-rise Hill suggested to me the possibility of using it in a new attempt at the November subject. Getting out the 1929 version, it struck me suddenly, that I could use this painting, use what

I had done as an underpainting, and go on from there. However I did not like the shape (36 x 48), so I now am in the process of adding to the picture, making it 37 x 61. It is a rather laborious affair, as the original is canvas mounted on beaver wood, and would not come off. I have mounted it on a piece of 1/8 pressed wood, adding the necessary beaver wood. I will add the cotton, and size + ground it, as I did the original.

     The disadvantage of using this old picture is that I [i]