Dorte Christjansen

I was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, into a family of artists. My parents and brother moved to Canada when I was six and after a few years in Vancouver, Kamloops and Seattle my mother and I settled in Southern California where I attended high school and college. I received my BA in Drawing and Painting (1965) and my MA in Illustration (1972) from California State University Long Beach. Watercolor and/or silk painting (batik) are my favorite mediums.

My paternal grandfather, Rasmus Christiansen (the spelling is correct, my father changed the i to a j) was a well known painter and illustrator in Denmark whose biography was recently published in a book, Rasmus Christiansen: Tegner go Maler (1863 -1940), En sommergest i Hjarbæk by Ole Utoft. Growing up I was surrounded by his paintings, drawings and illustrations. I was particularly impressed by an ink drawing of an oak tree, which I spent many hours copying, admiring his attention to detail and trying to learn his ink techniques. My father, Jørgen, was trained as a silversmith. Sadly, he lost an eye from injuries he sustained when the airplane he was flying solo to qualify as a pilot plunged into Hjarbæk Fjord, ending his silversmithing days and his dream of becoming a pilot. I was ...

I received my BA in Drawing and Painting (1965) and my MA in Illustration (1972) from California State University Long Beach.

I have an extensive exhibition record at the local, state and national level. More information is available on my website, dortechristjansen.com. I recently exhibited with the Long Beach Creative Group at the Rod Briggs Memorial Gallery during January of 2023.