Untitled [side view of squatting female nude] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a squatting nude, probably in charcoal, sometime during his career. What strikes me is the process, you can see the marks so clearly, the smudge of the charcoal, the layering of the lines. It feels like you’re in the studio with him, watching him work. The lines aren't precious, they are exploratory and tentative, like the artist is feeling his way around the form. Look at the mass of scribbled lines at the centre, the belly and breastbone of the figure, like a bird’s nest of marks. See how these are contrasted with the harder, darker outlines? To me, these marks suggest that the body is both a solid and a fluid thing. The way Diebenkorn renders flesh and form here reminds me of Willem de Kooning, but there is also a lightness to the touch that feels very Diebenkorn, and looks forward to his Ocean Park series. For Diebenkorn, like all artists, it's about looking, and searching, and finding a way to say something with a line.