Untitled [female nude seated in armchair] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a seated nude, with ink on paper, sometime in his career. It's a real study in process. I love how the ink just glides and pools. The textures here are everything. The wash of diluted ink creates this dreamy, almost hazy effect across the woman's form, while the sharp, decisive lines give her structure, anchoring her in the chair. Look at the shadow on the figure’s left side and how Diebenkorn creates depth with these subtle gradations of tone. The way he suggests form with so few marks, letting the white of the paper do so much work. I always find myself returning to this idea in my own practice, it is not about filling a canvas, but about making strategic decisions with the given materials. Diebenkorn really echoes Matisse in his exploration of line. Both artists explore ways of looking at the figure and their surrounding. It’s like an ongoing visual conversation.