Untitled [female nude seated in front of a bed] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a female nude seated in front of a bed, and I can imagine the charcoal stick moving swiftly across the paper, capturing the essence of the figure with remarkable economy. The lines are confident and fluid. I sympathize with him, trying to get it down, the pressure! The model, the pose, the light, all there for the taking. He has this amazing ability to suggest volume and form with just a few strokes, hasn't he? Like the way the lines thicken and thin to create a sense of depth and shadow. Diebenkorn's use of line reminds me of Matisse, or even some of those quick figure drawings by Picasso. There's an intimacy to this drawing, a sense of being in the room with the artist and the model. Artists like Diebenkorn are in constant dialogue with each other, across time and space, inspiring each other to see the world in new ways. It's a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation, a process of exploration and discovery that never ends.