I tend to work from the inside out. Working in Series appeals to me since it allows development of an idea, whether visual or spiritual. In earlier years I found much inspiration in nature and relationships.  In the not so distant past I have been profoundly influenced by global events.  While still keeping an eye on the world, I have recently turned a gaze back to my regional surroundings, specifically Monhegan Island.

Monhegan series 2010

I first went to Monhegan Island in 2005, when a friend invited me to stay with her and another friend who was renting a house. We brought food and wine and had free lodging – an amazing first visit. You touched down on the island and immediately felt the magic, the energy, the history of those who had lived there before you. There are many facets to the place, the town and dock, the web of paths, Cathedral Woods and my favorite, the stunning cliffs on the back side. I immediately started a journal of photographs (which I have continued each summer since). I did a few sketches and pastels while there, but mostly worked from my photos upon returning to Portland. I would see the compositions in my camera. I was also intrigued with the small island called Manana, situated directly in front of Monhegan and the little house and track which appeared as such a solitary yet prominent presence. Watching the light change over this landscape was ever engaging to me. I caught a photo and started a whole series expressing the idea of this little house in the midst of a large space, seemingly in the middle of nowhere – but truly in a continually changing landscape. I did sketches, used mixed media, textured wallpaper, oil on canvas, linocut prints on paper with mixed media … revisiting the composition and abstracting it out over and over. The large canvases “Aftermath” and “Stormy Cliffs”, have to do with the Cliffside. “Aftermath” began as a view of the cliffs to Blackhead, with figures emerging from the rocks and a beached vessel tilting in towards shore. In reality, it seemed there were visages everywhere you looked there, in rocks and roots and you could imagine an event such as a shipwreck occurring in some remote time in the past. I found it somehow emerging through my canvas. As it so happened, something else moved me to work beyond this scene and the painting morphed into what you presently see; the large figure of a bird in flight coming full circle to a time of peace, with the currents of past events rippling and resonating under the surface. While this painting was originally inspired by the cliffs of Monhegan, it then became more of an internal landscape in its final incarnation – crossing that line from real to internal or surreal, as subsequently and often happens in my work. With that said, I encourage viewers to see what they see, finding something, whether a personal experience, vision or a feeling that resonates with them.

"Alchemize 1"

Oil on canvas - 2008, 56" x 84"

"In the history of science, alchemy from Arabic refers to both an early form of the investigation of nature and an early philosophical and spiritual discipline, both combining elements of chemistry, metallurgy, physics, medicine, astrology, semiotics, mysticism, spritualism and art all as parts of one greater force." OIL. The commodity of oil. Source of fuel ... and as such presently, the source of much global woe, war, devastation of culture, humanity, economy and the environment. In the painting, figure of a woman crouched over in grief and overcome by light all at once - perhaps some higher power? One can only hope. Dead child or innocent being lies beneath her on the sand. Submarine looms behind her, breaking the surface. Sky spews smoke. What could this be but a scene of war, even in its apparent benign grayness? Lisa Dombek Portland, ME USA

"What’s Lost, What’s Left, What Emerges, What Comes …"

Plaster on board series - 2006

As the title suggests, this work is borne of a period of loss. Coming to terms with the idea – no, the reality of death and passing. Of its mystery. Unfathomability. Time with a loved one in the physical sense is suddenly lost, or stops. Of the essence of those spirits that remain within us and surround us. Their powerful presence. Expressed in a myriad of faces and forms. But where do souls really go? Relationships and patterns that meet an end. What’s left is s p a c e for what comes. Process: Plaster and wire over board with oil and mixed media. Texture. Field for the movement of souls …..

Plaster on Canvas series - 2005

The plaster on canvas series, of which "Tsunami Boat", "Tsunami - Animus & Aftermath", "Tsunami Kundalini Wave", "Angels and the Flesh" and "Mysterious Portrait" are a part, was begun as purely textural. I intended to simply play with color and limited myself to a subtle palette. During this time the earthquake and resulting tsunami in December 2004 hit Thailand and surrounding areas. Images started making their way through my consciousness and into the plaster and oil - faces, figures, energy, movement.

“Women in War Series I - IV”

Mixed media on paper – 2004

Women in War is a series of paintings I’ve been developing during the past several years in response to troubling global issues pressing our world today. As we become increasingly involved in war on a global level, I am overwhelmed and saddened by its degrading effect on our humanity, our cultures and spirituality. The “Women in War Series”, specifically addresses the juxtaposition of the feminine aspect with that degradation. Women as nurturers, caretakers and providers of nourishment have been compelled to take up arms, become vigilantes, protectors. As ones whose nature it is to endure, preserve and balance, the out-of-placeness of war is poignant. In terms of process, the nature of mixed media allowed my conscious/unconscious to become intertwined, letting images emerge and meld.