Cow Lick Drawing

Much of Eric Ketelsen’s work might be characterized by pattern, repetition and layering of tone and formal abstraction on paper. At the root of his work is a fascination with line quality, mark, and gesture. A nod to traditional Japanese aesthetics as well as Zen calligraphy is expressed in many of his drawings. A related influence, wabi-sabi, often associated with the aesthetic of the Japanese tea ceremony, recognizes beauty in the imperfect, worn, aged, faded, simple or crude. A look of faded or aged tone or an imperfect “wash” is prevalent in much of his black and white work. The work is often process oriented, improvisational and spontaneous. As a result the artist is constantly inspired to explore new and novel directions of expression.