Untitled [female nude seated on the floor with left arm raised] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this untitled watercolor of a seated nude, we don’t know exactly when. Look how the blues and browns collide, almost fighting for space, pushing and pulling the figure out from the ground. It's all about the process, you can sense him working through it. There’s a vulnerability in the washes of color. It’s thin, and soaks into the paper. It's not about perfection. See that dark smudge right above her raised arm? It’s like a shadow, but also a question mark. What’s she thinking? What’s Diebenkorn thinking? The color is almost opaque, but the paper still shines through, a reminder that this is just paint, just an illusion. This feels like a cousin to Matisse's more intimate drawings, but with a West Coast, sun-drenched vibe. It's not about answers, it's about the conversation, the back-and-forth between artist, subject, and us.