Long Beach artist Dorte Christjansen’s watercolors and batiks are currently on display in a show called Flora in the Long Beach Playhouse gallery, 5021 E. Anaheim St. through March 31.
Christjansen says that, as a child, she was influenced by her grandfather, Rasmu Christiansen, a well known painter and illustrator in Denmark. “He died before I was born, but his paintings, drawings and illustrations inspired me to become an artist and to major in fine arts at CSULB,” Christjansen said. “During my final year, I discovered batik, a medium that expanded my imagination anew and allowed me to work in ways I never imagined using traditional Western media.”
The process for using multiple layers of melted wax for creating images on fabric goes back to prehistoric times, Christjansen says. “The batik process liberated my imagination and experimental side,” she said. “It was the perfect fit for me and set the direction for my artistic career. Over time, I have developed my own personal process of alternating wax and dye plication until the image is complete and the silk covered with wax. The wax is removed by ironing fabric between sheets of tissue paper and then setting the dyes by steaming. The dyes are painted onto the silk using watercolor techniques, or sometimes sprayed or spattered for more textured effects.”
She has also painted with watercolors since she was a child. The techniques she uses in this medium influence her dye process on silk batiks. “The inspiration for my watercolor paintings is the same as for my batiks: landscapes, botanicals and the goings on in my garden,” she said. “The type of effects that I am seeking determine whether I choose one over the other. Lately, I’ve added colored pencil on Duralar film to test color combinations and compositions.”
Flora showcases her botanical works. There are watercolor and batik “portraits” of individual plants and flowers, as well as a series of mandalas that tell the story of specific cycles and plants in nature. For instance, “Monarch Metamorphosis” traces the cycle and development of the Monarch butterfly from caterpillar to butterfly while “Moonglow” is about ephemeral cactus, cereus and brugmansia flowers that bloom briefly for just one night. The mandalas’ edges are cut to follow the imagery. All cut edges are sealed with bronze-colored acrylic paint. Twently-four-karat gold leaf is then applied to selected areas.
“The mandala images were inspired by various plant studies from my garden,” Christjansen said. “The gold leaf represents the sun or the moon.”
The artist is also introducing her new Colorado Lagoon series, inspired by the view from her home and incorporating the natural landscape of what she considers Long Beach’s most beautiful park.
Flora includes original batiks, watercolors and pencil illustrations, as well as archival giclee prints and aluminum prints.
To view more of Christjansen’s work, visit dortechristjansen.com .
Source: Dorte Christjansen
