Collection: Lissen Røtkjær

Lissen Røtkjær. Born 1954. Lives in North Jutland.

Medical degree 1980. Kept to "mosten" for 8 years, then - in connection with a family crisis - admitted to the Vejlefjord mental health sanatorium, where I began to draw and paint. Subsequently retired. Followed Vibeke Skov's Art Therapy training from 1990-91 and has since sniffed out a sea of ​​alternative forms of treatment and self-development methods. Meditates from time to time, just as I find my way to the good Danish Church's church services when I need a "sign from above". I also find these signs in everyday life and in dreams, which are an important part of my life. In fact, I would argue that my inner life is at least as important as my outer one. Anchoring in my inner life is the best protection against the storms of outer life, which can both throw me up into the clouds and down into the coal cellar.

Am I a believer? Hmmm… Yes, I definitely consider myself a believer – but I believe in what fits into the reality that I can feel and which is true for me, independent of any affiliation with established religion. And fortunately I can feel (and notice) more and more as the years go by. When, for example, “synchronicity” occurs – a coincidence of events that inspires me to go in the same direction, I take it as a sign that I am in flow, that I am where I am supposed to be, somewhere between the will of the Ego and the Ego’s willingness to listen to the Soul/Universe. I experience more and more in my life being helped from the "other side" with inspiration to act, whether it is in reality or it is inspiration to move forward with my images and texts, and it is wonderful - and it confirms once again what I already "know", namely that there exists a continuous or eternal life, a life "behind" life so to speak, which is not interrupted by the death of the body.

Why I paint: First and foremost, I paint for my own pleasure – and necessity. And I often paint in series, not because I plan it, but because the creation of the first picture brings more with it than I could in any way anticipate in advance. The picture series “Duality – from cradle to grave” is a good example of this. There is nothing as wonderful as feeling help from “the other side” (we can also just call it “inspiration”), and I gain an incredible amount of insight during the creation of a picture about human life, its components and what it is all about. Since I cannot possibly convey all this using the picture alone, I like to go out and talk about the pictures and their creation, e.g. in connection with an exhibition.

I “believe” in the good, but also in the fact that we can take “the wrong path” from time to time. Which is actually the prerequisite for all learning. So my call to all of us must be: To boldly throw ourselves into the challenges as they arise in our lives – but finally to have eyes and ears open to life/the Universe’s response to our choice of action. In order to then correct the direction.

My greatest wish is to be allowed to convey just a little of what I get out of making pictures to interested fellow travelers on the Road of Life. And to receive inspiration in return.

About my texts and images: What I enjoy most is when what happens on the canvas or in the written word goes hand in hand with my dreams and what happens in physical reality, when it all blends together and follows each other like pearls on a string. For me, all realities are equally worthy and equally important.

Works:

2009: The poetry collection "The Birth of the Heart – a Self-Development Odyssey" is published. The poems are written on the basis of back-of-the-page drawing series, an art therapeutic method for letting the subconscious speak.

2011: The decoration of the Han Herreds Regional Collection house in Tranum is completed.

2015: The anthology "Hver fugl synger..." is published. Co-editor of the book and contributor along with the 26 other authors associated with Jammerbugten.

2017, early summer: The picture series “Duality – from cradle to grave” begins. The pictures are painted with acrylic on canvas approx. in size 1 by 1.3 meters. The first 2 pictures have been painted, there will probably be 5 more. These pictures will all be included in Ida Publishing as they are completed.

2018, spring: The book “The Birth of the Heart – Told in Pictures”, consisting of a selection of the picture pages for the original poetry collection with accompanying short texts, planned for publication. Selected images and texts from this book can be found here at www.idapublishing.shop .

Please contact me at livetsmagi@outlook.dk or see more at www.livetsmagi.dk and Wiki Blockhouse