Large Bright Blue

While New York was producing Abstract Expressionist artists during the 1940’s, California was also producing an exceptional group of artists. One of these artists was Diebenkorn who studied at The California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Some of the painters he studied with during the 1940’s were Clyfford Still and Mark Rothko. These artists also shared his highly personal approach to painting. This style has often been referred to as a painterly abstraction. In Large Bright Blue, Diebenkorn translates his well-known Ocean Park series he did on canvas to this beautiful work on paper. He was able to achieve the linear quality he is famous for by using aquatint. His work has often been said to possess what he called ?the tension beneath the calm.? The dramatic results created in this painting attest to Diebenkorn?s ability to actually create within the viewer a sense of ?the tension beneath the calm.? The artist accomplishes this by pushing us to understand a deeper meaning in his work.