Untitled [woman seated and leaning against the arm of a chair] [recto] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a woman seated in a chair with charcoal on paper. The way the lines are laid down, not overly fussy, lets you see the whole process. See how the lines around her face are smudged, giving her features a soft but present feel? I love the way he uses the charcoal, thick and thin, to build a sense of depth. You can almost feel the texture of the paper, and the way the charcoal grabs onto it, creating these subtle variations in tone. Notice the lines that suggest the arm of the chair, how they create a sense of space around her. This drawing reminds me a bit of Matisse, especially his line drawings, where a simple line captures a whole world of feeling. It's about looking, feeling, and trying to pin it down on paper without killing it in the process.