Charles Burchfield, Journals, February 14, 1962

In the night the wind veered around to s.w. and increased in volume; the rain changed to wet snow; in spite of its heaviness, the strong wind carved it into fantastic drifts –

Before breakfast I cleaned off the two porches and ran the car back and forth in the drive. Bertha and I exchanged Valentines.

Most of the day going over my “spring” pictures in the studio making many notes and being filled with ideas and the impulse to work on them – Also going over the 1917 winter & spring water-colors.

This is one of the happiest times of creativeness. Dreaming dreams and projecting ideas without the agony and frustration of carrying them out.

The “Retreat of Winter” (40 x 60) (inasmuch as I have just completed a small water-color and sent to the Rehn Gallery under the same title, this should have a new title).  As I studied the picture, it occurred to me that the dark ravine should have a peter-bird motif and I began to think of all that a Peter-bird used to mean in the Ohio days – cold brilliant sunny days in February or March – his the song suggested far away prehistoric times, when natural forces, being unexplainable to man, were given personalities; the dark frown of a ledge in a hollow, with icicles hanging down. Raw dropping banks, snow flattened leaves, a few early plants sending up pointed shoots –

The perennial fascination of the “convention” of a “black hollow” (which came to me in 1917, and has haunted me ever since) – symbolizing the dark mystery of a North Woods, where winter lurks in the V of deep sunless ravines.

“Swamp Fire at Night” (40 x 54) started last spring and based on a 1920 water-color – The pale lavender light that from above on a “rain-gloom” evening in early spring.

“North Wind in March” – how I love this subject! The black mystery of North Wind – (this picture grew out of a 1917 water-color of New Albany, Ohio. Last year I had to remove the 1917 portion, restore it to its original state). The picture now has become a totally new picture, with little lakes in a wild country. In the main lake, I have sketched a tiny islet – big enough however to have several trees on it. I fell to dreaming about it – The little island became a fairy isle; radiating a halo of golden sunshine – In this little hillock-isle there are hepaticas and spring-beauties blooming (thought, should the halo suggest hepaticas?) Can pussy-willows be introduced somewhere? Bluff to the right of the lake crowned with a group of tamaracks?

Got out the 1960 “Out of the Depths” and “Dream of an Imaginary Flower” and made suggested changes in both with chalk and charcoal. The later has always bothered me because the imaginary flower group has seemed to artificial. I thought of eliminating it altogether and putting in a brilliant hepatica group with a red fungus; but when I took it into the house, Bertha felt I might ought not to be too hasty, that she liked the group whether or not it was “real” – and after a while it came to me that now, with suggested minor changes, at least it looked balanced as a design of form and color.

Also got out the 1917 Winter and Early Spring water-color folios. These must be mounted – some of these even now seem daring in color and concept, and a few suggest new pictures.

Noon a nice Valentine from the Richter’s, with a heart-warming sentiment –

Letter from Munson-Williams-Proctor – They wish to borrow our “Dusty Road in July” and H.O.’s “Oncoming Spring” [Harold Olmsted]. Early afternoon M.A. called and we all had a good chat –

At supper-time a special from Sally, Red and Family  - a nice Valentine card (in three sections) and three beautiful ash-trays (from Japan) – square with a variegated glazed background, in the center of each, unglazed tan leaves of different kinds. I said to Bertha, we’d never allow anyone to mess them up with cigarette ashes.

In the evening Art called, to tell me he had a problem – the new amplifier would have to be a ‘stereo’ one as they were no longer making good monaural amplifiers; and that the stereo outfit would not work without another speaker cabinet – He said it would only be one by two feet in size, so I told him to go ahead and set it up that way. He said he already had the tape-recorder built and that it worked fine. Then we turned the phone over to Bertha and Vi.

At 10:00 P.M.  – Mrs. Kennedy & Tour of White House – she made a charming and elegant guide – and the work she is doing in searching for and re-installing furniture and other mementos of past presidents seems very important (It would be so easy for such young people to want everything to be “modern” – it is interesting to note the changes & additions as well as selection made by various Presidents or their wives. Perhaps most fascinating of all was Lincoln’s bed.

Bed-time music – Sibelius 4^th Symphony & Pohjola’s Daughter.

Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, February 14, 1962