“Oncoming Spring” seems an over-optimistic title to describe the watercolor painted by Charles Burchfield. Apparently, he was fully aware that rain and snow were in the forecast when he ventured into the woods to paint. He later wrote, “My theme was the clashing of spring and winter in the woods; sunlight and wind penetrating the deep gloom of winter."
Dark gloom fills the painting’s background and the brutal strength of the wind is represented by yellow tinged shapes. Tree trunks and branches are shown bending almost to the breaking point.
But Burchfield, who admitted to being fascinated by “the fickleness of changing seasons,” also painted sunlight coming from above. In late winter, the sun is higher and more intense than it was in the days around the Winter Solstice. And the hours of sunlight increase a bit each day.
So under an umbrella during a thunderstorm, he stood at his easel for hours capturing the violence of the storm but also noticing and painting standing water and slushy, dirt-covered snow. He understood that each day, the water molecules at the surface were gaining sufficient solar energy to change from a solid to a liquid. Slush can melt then refreeze at night, but each thaw brings us closer to spring.
We probably will experience a late winter storm... or several. Sometimes these final storms can be ferocious. But know that winter is losing its gloomy grip. "Oncoming Spring" already has begun.
