Urbana No. 2, also known as The Archer, is one of Diebenkorn’s most famous works of the period. Painted in 1953, it is one of his first big scale works to include black, dark green, and blue as main colors. It is also the only painting that he intentionally made semi-representational: there is a bow like object in the upper left hand corner which earned the work its title. The painting is full of energy and has an anxious and violent edge to it. Black lines are slashed across a white background while there are huge blocks of green and blue. These elements may suggest a clashing of the psyche with the landscape. Inspiration for the line work was allegedly taken from the ancient cave paintings in Alta Mira, Spain.
     While in Urbana, Dienbenkorn refined the abstract vocabulary that he had begun in Albuquerque. Ultimately, though, the bleak environment did not prove to be a desirable residence for the artist. He subsequently spent the summer of 1953 in New York, and returned home to Northern California in the fall.