Untitled

About this work

You see a sheet of paper covered in quick, nervous pencil and charcoal marks—no faces, no objects, just scribbles that look like they were made in a hurry. This is a study Johns made while thinking about his friend, the poet Frank O’Hara. The marks feel like thoughts spilling out, not a finished picture. Johns often worked this way: small, private sketches that later became bigger paintings. If you like the raw energy here, try looking up cross-hatching next.