Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), Road in May (In May), 1939; watercolor and Conté crayon on paper, 24 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches; Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, The Hayden Collection—Charles Henry Hayden Fund, Purchased 1939
Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, June 10, 1939
Friday, Jul 5, 2013
Going thru my 1917 pencil notes. Thoughts aroused by the 1916-17 work:
a. I was in good physical condition—when I felt staleness coming on, I stopped painting, and did the necessary physical play or work to put me in the right again.
b. There never was a thought of either exhibiting or selling the pictures I was painting.
c. It did not matter in the least if the picture failed—there was always another day.
d. If I did not have the energy to paint a picture, I put down in pencil what interested me—whether it was a bit of sky, or landscape, odd tree, or plant—
But these notes were not drawings of the things themselves, but expressions in pencil of the mood or thought inspired by them.
Charles Burchfield, June 10, 1939