Untitled [seated nude with arms resting on chair back] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a seated nude, probably in his studio, using charcoal on paper. Those dark lines, searching and confident, show us how he thinks through form. There’s a real conversation happening here between artist, model, and the pull of the charcoal across the page. You can almost see him circling the figure, trying to capture the essence of her pose. I love how the lines aren’t precious; they overlap and sometimes even seem to contradict each other. I wonder if Diebenkorn was thinking about Matisse when he made this? There’s a similar kind of relaxed intimacy and a focus on the pure pleasure of line. Drawing like this is about feeling, about capturing a moment of seeing and being. It's a reminder that art is as much about the process as it is about the final image, and how, as artists, we are always in dialogue with each other.