Sue Rohrback passes knowledge through teaching
Sue Rohrback was introduced to art at an early age when her father gave her Jon Gnagy’s “Learn to Draw” (1950) book. She began to sketch and had her first “aha” moment when she realized, “I can draw.”
She continued to draw and went on to earn an associate’s degree in applied science in advertising art from Spokane Falls Community College in 1975. That same year she married and moved into her Valley home.
Since then, she has made a living as an artist. She was one of the artists at the first Sandpoint art festival. She has traveled and exhibited for many years at art shows and fairs.
Her husband of 31 years, Jack, traveled with her, as did their three boys. James, now 27, and her 20-year-old twins, Jesse and Andy, who learned to appreciate art.
“They learned about socialization, hard work, competition and what it takes to fulfill a dream,” said Rohrback.
In 1990, she settled back into her Valley home where she paints in a separate studio filled with hundreds of art books, lesson plans and supplies.
Rohrback starts every day and every painting with a prayer. “I can envision the way I want to see the finished work and that’s when the prayer is offered up,” she said. “A blank piece of paper can leave an artist feeling pretty humble.”
She paints in oils, watercolors and acrylic. Portraits and landscapes are her primary subjects. She recently completed a serene acrylic painting called “Bird Guarding the Fort.” It is a simple and balanced piece showing a pigeon perched on the smooth cap of a pillar in St. Augustine, Fla. “I paint and draw the people and scenery close to home or wherever I travel,” said Rohrback.
Her work has been accepted into juried shows, and she has won many awards. She has displayed her paintings at Colburn’s Gallery, the Angel Gallery in Coeur d’Alene, CenterPlace at Mirabeau Park, Auntie’s Bookstore, and the Spokane Valley Library. She is also an active member of the Spokane Watercolor Society where she served as president from 1999 to 2001. Currently, her work can be seen at the Goodworks Gallery in downtown Spokane.
She also taught art for the Spokane Parks and Recreation at Corbin Art Center from 1991 to 2001, and for the past six years, has been teaching multimedia, drawing and watercolor through SFCC’s extended learning programs.
She uses the Olympic torch as an analogy, saying that teaching is like passing a spark of knowledge from one generation to the next. Former student Gloria Cash said, “She was always genuinely interested in what her students were doing, and it was quite apparent that she loved what she was doing.”
Rohrback expresses in paint what she cannot find the poetry to write.
“People see you through your paintings,” she said. “It’s a very deep reflection of your inner self – a voice spoken through shapes, values and colors.”