52 Artists Magazine June 2020
Fall (above) is one of Robles’ first allegorical paintings.
She made it, along with Spring (opposite) and Zeus (page
54), while still a graduate student a decade ago. “They’re
more figurative pieces than portraits, as the figure in each
is also symbolic of something else,” she says. Inspiration
for Robles’ allegorical paintings comes as a visual—or
sometimes as just a thought. “It’ll be big enough thatthere’s room for it to evolve while I’m
working on it, but it’s also pointed in
a certain direction in which I know
where it’s going,” Robles says. “I know
the overarching idea of it, but can
include various things and play
around with symbolism.”RIGHT
“Animals appearing with
people is pretty common
in my work,” Robles says.
“Animals have this ability
to describe aspects of our
own personal natures and
also say something about
humans in general.” In
Fall (oil on linen, 40x27),
the “fat cat” symbolizes
humans’ insatiable appetite
for more. This materialism
is referenced in the cat’s
diamond-encrusted collar.
“And, it’s eating a bird, which
is symbolic of the spirit,”
Robles says.OPPOSITE
“This piece originally had
a diff erent setting—
the ocean was in the
background—but it wasn’t
right,” Robles says of Spring
(oil on linen, 40x27),
a painting about “a season
and a renewable resource,
as well as time.” As the
piece progressed, the artist
realized she wanted
a waterfall instead, and the
reference for it came to her
while visiting her brother in
Seattle. “He took me on a
day trip, and I didn’t know
where we were headed,” she
says. “We took a little hike
and suddenly Snoqualmie
Falls roared in front of me.
It was exactly the setting
I wanted for the painting.”