Large Bright Blue 1980

Richard Diebenkorn made this print, Large Bright Blue, using aquatint and etching. You know, the way he builds up these zones of color feels so much like a painting process. It’s all about layering and seeing what happens as you go. I love how the big blue area dominates the piece, but it’s not just a flat expanse. Look closely, and you can see the ghost of previous marks and shapes lurking underneath. It's like he was searching for the right form, erasing and redrawing until he found something that felt right. The texture is amazing too, it's rough and uneven, which gives the print this incredible depth. Then, that little curved edge at the top right of the blue area, it’s such a subtle detail, but it really makes the whole composition sing. Diebenkorn does a lot of things like this. He’s related to other artists like Morandi, because his work shows you that art is an ongoing conversation, always questioning and exploring. It's about ambiguity, not answers, and I find that incredibly inspiring.