Untitled [seated female model with right arm on knee] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a seated model, probably in the middle of the 20th century, with charcoal on paper. Look at the hatching in this piece, it’s all about a process, you can imagine the artist thinking aloud while he worked. The charcoal is dry and powdery, clinging to the paper but also smudging easily. There’s a real sense of the hand in the drawing, the way the lines vary in pressure and direction. The figure is built up with these marks, some dark and decisive, others light and tentative. Notice the shadows under the figure’s thigh are rendered with dense, almost scribbled lines, a real contrast to the more delicate lines of the arm and face. This is a drawing about seeing, but also about feeling, like with Matisse, who I think Diebenkorn probably looked at a lot. It’s a reminder that art is as much about the journey as the destination.