Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

 heavy frost night before last, killed a lot of young leaves and blossoms. A few miles beyond Java Village, an open woods attracted me and I stopped to look at it. Here in the woods there was little evidence of the dry weather and the freeze—all was a maze of yellow-green and emerald leaves, shot with golden yellow sunlight. Gradually I came to the decision to paint here. An idea I had last year of showing the transition of spring to summer came to me; using fading trilliums, & spring beauties & hepaticas gone to seed in the foreground, with a vista showing early summer. I set up my easel, then ate my lunch with great happiness and content. A cool north wind tempered the warm sunlight.As I proceeded with my sketch, it occurred to me to make the extreme foreground & sides to represent very early spring. Shortly after I started I heard the highly individual (but scarcely charming) call of a scarlet tanager. I decided to introduce a motive of vivid red & black in the upper branches to denote the swift & exclusive passage of this gorgeous bird.Once when I was growing tired, I lay down on a patch of dry leaves and let the sun flood me with heat & light. It was a delicious sensation. Finish after five—now growing cool. I packed up my things & drove eastward to find a suitable spot to eat my