Embarcadero Studio, San Francisco 1959

Paul Wonner made this drawing, Embarcadero Studio, in San Francisco, on a sheet of paper with graphite. You can really sense the hand of the artist in this drawing. The artist is right in there, in the thick of it, really drawing and redrawing the lines to bring the space into focus. I’m always curious about what it must have been like to be the artist at that moment. Wonner is sitting there with a piece of graphite in his hand, looking, looking, looking—intently observing his studio and its contents. The textures of the walls, the light filtering through the windows, and the way the objects cast shadows—all these things are evoked with such simple means. The marks are delicate but confident, creating a sense of depth and atmosphere, a real sense of the artist in his own habitat. It feels like a really intuitive response to what he was seeing and feeling. The drawing captures not just the physical space but also the emotional resonance of a place where creativity happens. It makes me want to go make something myself. It's infectious!