Untitled [seated female nude with legs crossed] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this sketch of a seated female nude in an unknown year with what seems to be ink on paper. You get the sense he wasn't trying to capture every detail, but he focused on the overall form and feeling. I bet he was thinking about Matisse while making this drawing! Those loose lines, the way he suggests the body’s volume without getting all fussy about it… There’s a real sense of freedom. The line meanders, sometimes thick, sometimes thin, and the negative space is as important as the figure itself. The blank paper becomes part of the drawing, suggesting light and air. It's like a shorthand for seeing, a quick note taken in line. It reminds you that drawing, like painting, is a way of thinking, a conversation between the eye, the hand, and the world. He's not just copying what he sees, but he's interpreting it, feeling it, and that's what makes it sing.