Untitled [detail of a model resting her hand on her knee] [recto] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a model with charcoal, maybe without a plan, but definitely with an attitude! What grabs me is the pentimento - those ghostly, erased lines. It's like he's showing us his thought process, the false starts and corrections. The heavy dark line of the finished figure sits on top of these pale blue lines like the image has shifted, not quite settled, which makes the image feel alive. There’s one bold stroke of pink too, right where the heart would be. Diebenkorn's not trying to trick us into thinking this IS the figure, instead, he's showing us HOW to see the figure. It's this embrace of process, of showing the "how," that makes his work so appealing. Reminds me a bit of Philip Guston, both unafraid to leave the mess, the struggle, right there on the surface. Art isn't about answers; it’s about the questions, right?