Ocean Park #131 1985

Richard Diebenkorn made this painting, Ocean Park #131, with oil on canvas. Look at the sandy, faded blues and grays, the sharp blacks and yellows. Can you feel the sun and shadows mixing? I like to think of Diebenkorn out there in California, wrestling with the canvas, layering these translucent planes. The gesture is so present; you can feel him thinking, erasing, and rethinking with each stroke. There’s a tenderness here, a quiet conversation happening between the colors and the shapes. Look at the way the lines create these subtle divisions. Each rectangle and square feels like a fragment of a memory, or a glimpse of a landscape. It reminds me of Agnes Martin's quiet grids, but with a West Coast vibe. These painters, they're all talking to each other across time, aren't they? Each canvas is a new way of seeing, feeling, and making sense of the world. It’s not about answers but about possibilities.