Untitled [back view of a female nude in stockings] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a female nude in stockings sometime in the 20th century, using ink on paper. Look at the network of marks mapping the contours of her body, a flurry of dark lines in different tones creating a sense of light and volume. I can imagine Diebenkorn’s focus, moving rapidly as he tries to capture the nuances of the figure. You can almost feel the energy of his hand, responding to the model. His marks aren't overworked or precise. They remind me of other artists—Klimt and Schiele—with their nervous lines and erotic charge. See how the ink bleeds in places, pooling to create darker accents. I love the way the marks are so free and expressive, full of immediacy. Artists are constantly riffing off each other. They create a visual conversation across time, and this drawing is one little sentence in the middle of it all. Painting is about so much more than just depicting an image. It's about thinking through material, through the body, and through the act of looking.