i love richard diebenkorn. 
I too worked on ocean park boulevard for several years and in someway felt a kinship to richard.
he had a studio in ocean park santa monica and it was there that he created his famous "ocean park" series of paintings.
well, i suppose you could call me a super-fan!
in a book about his art i came across this image of him working on a painting and on later pages the "finished" painting itself.
i immediately noticed the STARK DIFFERENCES.
in the "work in progress" version we see two figures and what appears to be a chair. one of the figures appears perhaps to be looking at a book or newspaper or what i see as holding a portion of the painting itself. that painting being the head of the standing figure and its subsequent background. in the" finished" piece we can see how the work evolved. now there is a single figure remaining and we see only the head and shoulders. the figure now seems to be a painting in and of itself that was placed against the dark wall which as i stated before represents the now removed 2nd figure?
mystifying?
i wonder why mr. diebenkorn chose to remove the second figure? why did he seemingly turn the remaining figure into a painting within the larger painting of a portion of the now removed second figure? i wonder if it was a move that enhanced the work? is there some kind of a statement being made in the "finished" version more so than the straight forward version of the "work in progress"?
what a joy to behold both versions.
what a joy to be able to contemplate the journey the work went through and perhaps see an unintentional glimpse into the private ideas in the mind of a great painter?
what do you think? is this a case of the painter over working a piece or not? is there a deeper meaning here or just a mechanical happenstance?
notes of interest*
to me this photo (at left) shows a table with handheld mirror and beyond several paintings stacked against a dark wall. the main painting we see is a small vignette of what we see at the top of the "work in progress" (at right) version.
why the handheld mirror that is reflecting the top of the building and sky? is there a hidden meaning there? what if anything could it represent? is the handheld mirror merely a clever device for a spot of vibrant color that helps bring balance to the design?
am i over analyzing again? maybe. i have been known to do that from time to time. : )
leave a comment below if you care to chime in. i would love to hear your thoughts!
btw - this is a cool diebenkorn website - click HERE
