Untitled [profile of a woman] [verso] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this quick ink drawing of a woman, we don't know when. It's all about gesture. See how he's feeling the form with those bold strokes? The ink is immediate, raw. There's no hiding, right? You can practically see his hand moving, trying to capture something fleeting. Look at the way he builds up the hair with these looping, scribbled lines – a real sense of energy there. Then notice the shadows filled in with a wash. It's not about perfection, it's about the process, the search. That little cluster of ink splatters down below almost feels like a punctuation mark. It reminds me of some of Cy Twombly's quick figure drawings, but with a slightly different vibe, a West Coast coolness perhaps. And just like with Twombly, it's not about getting a likeness, but about finding a language.