Preparatory drawing depicting various angles of lilies.

Charles Burchfield studied at the Cleveland School of Art from 1912-16. At the time this drawing was made in June 1915, he summered in his hometown of Salem, Ohio. Burchfield had a keen interest in burgeoning depictions of his surroundings that others might consider unattractive, such as dirty snow, skunk cabbage, stinkhorns, smoke, etc. He also had a fascination with childhood memories and fantastical daydreams- often scenes of nature which appealed to the senses.

Other sketches from May-July 1915 depict vast skies and outlines of trees, flowers, and grasses. In his journal, Burchfield stated that he made hundreds of these sketches that summer, as he felt he needed to get his personal reactions to nature out with a now or never, career-defining approach. 1915 was the official year in which Burchfield decided he would be an artist, to "just paint".