Untitled [standing female nude with raised arms] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this nude study with charcoal on paper. Can you imagine him circling the model, quickly trying to find the essence of the figure in front of him? There's a beautiful economy to the marks here. They have the confidence and directness of someone really in tune with their own vision. I always think of my own practice when I see the work of other artists. I wonder if Diebenkorn also felt that electric energy while creating the drawing. The anticipation of each new line being laid down on the paper. The excitement of seeing an image emerge, shift, and change with each new mark. The scribble on the lower part feels almost violent or frustrated, like he couldn't quite resolve the form. But it’s so great that he left it, allowing us to enter into the arena of his decisions. We can see it, too, when other marks have been scrubbed out. Painters are always in conversation with other painters – both living and dead – a kind of visual, embodied dialogue across time.