Untitled [reclining nude with her left arm above her head] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this charcoal drawing, Untitled [reclining nude with her left arm above her head]. Those smudges and purposeful lines really get me thinking. I can almost feel the charcoal dust on my fingertips, just imagining Diebenkorn’s process. I can see him, his hand moving quickly, trying to capture the essence of the reclining figure before him. He's using quick strokes to bring her to life, to render her form. It's like he's wrestling with the image, grappling with the shadows, trying to understand the planes of her body. You can see the ghost of other lines where he’s made adjustments, shifted things around, always searching for the right balance, the right tension. His mentor, David Park, was also drawn to similar subjects. I imagine he was inspired by what he saw. It’s this continual dialogue—artist to artist, generation to generation. It's like they are all in conversation.