Untitled 1987

Richard Diebenkorn made this untitled work with graphite and paint on paper. Looking at the drawing I can see a subtle palette of muted greys, ochres, and blacks and I wonder what the painting experience was like. The drawing has a loose grid-like structure, something like a blueprint, and I start thinking about Diebenkorn's process. Maybe he started with hard lines, later softening the forms with washes of paint. Or, did he start with the ground, scraping and wiping away at the surface? It’s a back-and-forth, trial and error. That swooping, curved line stands out—breaking away from the grid and adding a sense of fluidity to the composition. It reminds me of Joan Mitchell's gestural abstraction. You know, how artists are always in conversation with each other, riffing off ideas and pushing boundaries. In the end, the drawing is not about answers but the questions an artist asks.