Untitled [side view of seated nude leaning back on her left arm] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a seated nude, probably in the 1960s, with what looks like ink or diluted paint on paper. It’s all about process. The way Diebenkorn uses the brush here is cool; it's washy and quick, not too precious. The black ink almost feels fluid, like it's still moving on the page. The figure is built up with these layers of transparent strokes, giving her a kind of weight but also a lightness. Look at the way he suggests the shadow under her leg – just a few quick strokes, but it totally works. The white of the paper becomes just as important as the black lines. It reminds me a bit of Matisse's drawings, that same economy of line and focus on capturing the essential form. It’s like he's saying, "Here's a body, here's a space, now you fill in the rest." And in that space, there's room for all kinds of possibilities.