Untitled [seated woman in coat with fur collar] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a seated woman in a coat and fur collar with ink on paper. I love this work! Look at the economy of line! So simple, yet so descriptive. You can see how quickly Diebenkorn worked, the ink almost bleeding on the page as he tried to capture the essence of his sitter. I can imagine him stepping back from the easel, squinting to see if he's got it right, and then leaning in again to add another line, a little darker, a little bolder. I like the little ink blots all over the page! They read like raindrops, or tiny tears. The head resting on her hand makes me think of his Ocean Park paintings – that same sense of melancholy, of longing, of being lost in thought. It reminds me too of Matisse’s drawings. Artists are always looking, borrowing, stealing from each other, and in the process making something new. Painting is just one big conversation across time.