Centralia area artist Lis Robles with her newest painting, a work in progress featuring a cyborg-type subject. Robles says she uses art to help her cope with the stresses of living with depression and physical health issues.
One of Centralia artist Lis Robles' paintings.
A hand-painted sign on Lisandra Robles’ apartment door says it all “Art is a definite part of my personality.”
Step through the door and you’ll be a believer.
Almost every inch of her apartment walls is covered in art, much of it of her design. Each canvas is truly part of her since they are the therapy that has helped her out of some of the darkest parts of her life. Just five years ago, Robles, 28, was homeless and hopeless but her art helped her find a way to the life she really wanted.
“When I start getting really down with anxiety, I try to just put my headphones on and start painting and focus on whatever challenge I’m facing and put it on canvas,” she said.
Originally from Texas, Robles has faced a number of challenges in her life and said it is art that has helped her through some of the most trying times. She was born at just 22 weeks gestation, making her an extremely preterm infant. Typical human pregnancies last about 40 weeks and premature infants born before 37 weeks frequently have a variety of medical issues at birth but also are at a higher risk of certain medical issues later in life. Robles spent the first several weeks of her life in the hospital.
“I was really tiny. My dad could fit me into the palm of his hand,” Robles said.
At the age of 5, Robles was diagnosed with a chromosomal condition that affects the way her body produces hormones. Her condition affects her body’s rate of growth so that even having undergone several years of hormone therapy, she is still quite petite. She is also prone to many medical conditions including epileptic seizures and allergic reactions.
“Basically, my brain and my body don’t talk to one another,” she explained.
As a child and teen, Robles said she was often bullied because she was always much smaller than her peers. The chemical imbalances in her brain also make her prone to depression, which was made worse by how she was treated by those around her. But at the age of about 7 or 8 she said she discovered art could help her with her negative feelings.
“I’ve always been kind of a doodler,” she recalled. “I started doodling things and it always brought me happiness. But I started to get in trouble in school all the time for doodling.”
Robles moved to Centralia about three and a half years ago, but before that spent several years moving around from place to place. She said she became homeless at the age of 17 and her mental health spiraled. She said at its worst, her depression made her feel like she wanted to sleep all day long.
But eventually, she said, she simply had to tell herself to get up out of bed and do something. At first, small tasks others might take for granted was all she could manage, but she said with time and practice she was able to do more and more each day. She found returning to the artwork that brought her so much joy as a child was something that helped her motivate herself out of those dark days. A quote on the wall next to her art easel reminds her daily what she has come through: “What’s been broken can be mended. What hurts can be healed. And no matter how dark it gets the sun is going to rise again.”
“I wanted to take control over my own life,” she recalled.
Robles is among the 20 percent of Americans living with mental health issues and 40 percent of Americans living with chronic health issues. Through art, she has found a way to cope with the stresses. According to a recent report from the World Health Organization, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted mental health services in 93 percent of countries, while requests for those services are steadily climbing because of the stress of the pandemic. Robles said it was hard to find her way out of her hardest days but she said anyone out there struggling with mental illness needs to remember they are not alone. She said it is important to first recognize there is a problem and second, seek help from a friend, teacher, or counselor who can help you work through your issues. She said her boyfriend, Corey, understands what she lives with and gives her great encouragement when she is down.
“I think it’s really important to have someone who can listen to you and asking for help is really important,” she said.
After recognizing her issues and finding her support system, Robles said she found getting in touch with art has helped her cope with the day to day issues surrounding her many conditions. She loves to paint in acrylic, mostly abstract and some realism. She has a strong connection with animals, which are a frequent subject of her paintings. She said her inspiration comes from varied sources including images she sees on Google or Pinterest but she sees that research as just a jumping off point.
“I always want to do my kind of painting in my own style,” she said.
And Robles loves to share her artwork, as well as the therapeutic benefit she has received from it, with friends and family. She has done commission artwork for some of her neighbors as well as sold a few art pieces on Etsy. Mostly, she just loves to share her artwork on social media and hear what others have to say.
“It makes me feel good when people are interested in my art,” she said.
But Robles said her goal for her art is therapeutic, not money motivated. She said she pictures her art always being a huge part of her life, just not a career choice. She recently began taking classes at Centralia College and would like to pursue a degree in the field of justice. She explained that personal experiences in her past led her to choose a career where she could help others.
“I just want to be the person to help people feel safe in some way because I know when I was young, I always wanted people to help me and I just want to be the one to reach out and help kids like me.” she said.
