Richard Diebenkorn

#0730 Richard Diebenkorn

A sketch from a photo in the book I am reading: The Art of Richard Diebenkorn. Great book. Reviews on Amazon say a lot, and say good things about this book.

I was struck by the Diebenkorn paintings in San Francisco – at the SFMoMA and at the De Young. I sneaked a picture. I will go on to say more about this artist & the Bay Area Figurative school. His work and a Matisse follow:

Reading about Richard Diebenkorn it is interesting how he struggled with form and content, one year he moves in one direction & a few years later in the other. Years! One thing about digital art is that it dries fast, the studio is ever present, and there is not much mess. (All this does not count printing of course, which is more earth bound.)

Another thing in the concept of being digital is: it is relatively easy to go through the stages of creativity (mental blocks aside). I am coming late to the easel, but with a lot of pictures behind me. I still feel like I am sketching towards something, and that something is not clear.

I am drawn to the Diebenkorn story because he straddled the figurative abstract line. For a while I could not wait to do huge gestural stuff – now this conscious and precise, yet intuitive work of the Ocean park work appeals. In the end what comes will be mine, but the recapitulation & exploration is vital for me.

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While on the subject of process.

Here is the Matisse View of Notre Dame 1914 that had an influence on Diebenkorn:

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This is an excellent summary of the Diebenkorn story I think.