‘I’ve always worked with acrylics from day one!’

John Rombough, a self-taught artist from Łutsël K’é. He has been painting for 33 years, specializing in contemporary woodland art with Dene themes. Inspired by the Northern Lights, he transitioned from ink drawings to acrylics.

John Rombough: “This is John Rombough, Dene artist from Łutsël K’é.”

CKLB: “Perfect. How did you get to where you are? How has your journey been so far?”

John Rombough: “Well, actually, been painting for about 33 years now, and I’m self-taught. I do like a contemporary woodland style, but bringing in the Dene themes, and yeah, just a lot of practice. I mean, I was inspired at an early age to draw, so I just yeah, I just took it from there, and now I yeah now I paint all originals. I’m actually working for paying for six galleries in Canada now. So yeah, it’s been it’s been quite a creative lifestyle working with acrylics and actually, it’s all really related to the you know, my great ancestors and I’m so grateful to be able to create and paint for my culture. So yeah, that’s how it’s been and it’s quite a journey and it’s and always getting better.”

CKLB: “Amazing. And is acrylics your medium of choice when you’re painting?”

John Rombough: “Yeah, I’ve always worked with acrylics from day one. And actually, I was adopted in the ’70s. I grew up in Prince Edward Island, and then I moved back up north in ’93, and that’s actually when I started working with acrylics. So about 93, I was inspired by the Northern Lights, so the Aurora. Just prior to that, though, I wasn’t working with acrylics until I moved up north. So, I was doing a lot of ink drawings, like filling in Sketchbooks and yeah, just practicing the lines and everything. So yeah, it was quite a process.”

CKLB: “That’s amazing. And so, how has your art changed from when you were living in PEI to coming up north and kind of immersing yourself in our Dene ways.”

John Rombough: “Well, I was down on the East Coast. I was mostly doing like a contemporary woodland style, so it’s Ojibwe style art. So it’s just black deporting lines.”

CKLB: “Okay.”

John Rombough: “But once I moved up north, and then I was like, okay, I can combine these kinds of drawings into paintings, and then do a tree line of the north, and then that in the northern lights, and then and then all of a sudden I’m like working with colours, acrylics, just self-taught. So yeah, I just taught myself, and my dad was really patient because he had to kick me out of hunt and everything back then, and then I was just inspired by the land, and that’s yeah, that’s how my art became what it is today.”

CKLB: “You being an artist, I mean, there’s many different layers to being an artist, but was there a specific moment where you knew you made it!”

John Rombough: “Wow, that’s a good one. Yeah, I think yeah, I actually got to met my meet my mentor. So I was going to like the En’owkin center in Penticton. It’s an Aboriginal artist training program, and I had word that he was coming to the Penticton Art Gallery because he was traveling with his animator, and he had a four-season animation creation that he was going to present. And so, yeah, I got to meet Norval Morrisseau, my mentor, and all he said was to just you know paint until he can’t pick up a painting any or a paintbrush anymore.

“So I was like, okay, yeah, they got better. And then he told my other friend Mark at the time, Mark Anthony Jacobson. He’s like, ‘okay, watch it, watch for this guy. He’s a good artist. Yeah, keep him.’ You know, like he. And then that’s when I knew I was like, okay, maybe I because I presented him a painting, Baron Woof, an Eagle Clan painting. So he must have saw something in that in in that painting. And yeah, so that’s when I felt like I was like, okay, I think I’m up with the, you know, I’m doing really well with my art then.”

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CKLB: “Yeah, you’re in with the in crowd when your mentor is the one like, oh yeah, this is the guy.”

John Rombough: “This is the guy watcher for this guy. Yeah.”

CKLB: “Oh my goodness. Yeah. You have recently moved back down to Alberta, am I correct?”

John Rombough: “Yeah. Yeah. I have an art studio down, and yeah.”

CKLB: “What kind of spearheaded you know that that move because you’d been up north for some time.”

John Rombough: “Uh. Well. Yeah. Just it seems like there’s lots going on. It’s nice to be central, actually, as an artist, and which I can just because I’m dealing with six galleries now. So they sometimes want me to just you know come down do art demonstrations, and yeah, seems plus. I mean, art supply stores are better in Native.”

CKLB: “With you there.”

John Rombough: “Yeah, I get my paint and everything’s right there. So, yeah, I just I don’t know. I just want to be more central as an artist, and yeah, and just have a like a large art studio where I can just mass produce and then have art shows. Yeah, so it’s a good move.”

CKLB: “Okay, perfect. As long as it’s a positive, definitely!”

John Rombough : “Yeah, yeah.”

CKLB:” And for yourself, how do you define success?”

John Rombough: “Just yeah, just be proud of what you make creatively, and yeah, just be grateful for your talent. And like, I leave a lot of blueberry offerings to my great ancestors. I was told to do that. So when I’m doing like a large series of paintings, and yeah, just be humble and just keep practicing at your at your craft.”

CKLB: “If you could meet an artist in history, who would it be and why?”

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John Rombough: “Oh wow! Oh gosh! Well, I might be able to meet the last native group of seven artists. He’s still alive, Joseph. I would love to meet him to figure, you know, just ask him questions about his how he approaches it, his creativity. So yeah, it would be one of the last remaining group, native group seven alive.”

CKLB: “Yeah, that would definitely be oh that would be so informative. I didn’t even know that there was there was there was still one alive.”

John Rombough: “Yeah, Sanchez Joseph or is it Joseph Sanchez? Oh my gosh, I’m really bad with last name. You do if you research it. Yeah, no, yeah, he’s the last remaining. Yeah, all the other ones because I was wanting to. I actually did meet Alex Janvier from Cold Lake, and yeah, I was just amazed with his family. And he has sweats every Sunday, but he’s passed on now. But yeah, it was one of the native group seven from the 70s or 60s and 70s.

CKLB: “As an artist, how difficult is it to maintain being inspired when you’re creating? Like, do you ever have those moments when you’re like, “Oh, I just I have nothing.” What do you do?”

John Rombough: “I  don’t have that problem actually, but no, I’m. I just do like a smudge, like smudge yourself before you start creating. Smudge all your canvases and paint, and with some sage, and you know, just think about your trips on the land, and so I don’t run out of any ideas.”

CKLB: “Well, that’s amazing right there. I wish I had that.”

John Rombough: “Yeah, I have endless ideas. Like, yeah, always thinking about the animals and you know everything on the land, like grandfather rocks and you know the water, the like the people you know out on the land, and just being a part of it.”

CKLB: “Perfect. I don’t have too many more questions for you. I ended up moving into a house in 2015, and you had a painting on their wall, and so we were like, we really want to keep this, and they were like, “no,” and then they cut it out of the wall.”

John Rombough : “Oh my gosh!”

CKLB: “And we were like, “Are you serious? It’s literally on the wall!” They’re like, “No, we’ll replace the wall.” Yeah.”

John Rombough: “Oh yeah. Oh yeah. That’s a Rombough original!”

CKLB: “Exactly. If it’s painted on a house wall, it is definitely an original.”

John Rombough: “Yeah. I remember that one. That was a good, it was a good painting.”

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CKLB: “I enjoyed it when we did the walk through of the house. It was gorgeous. Yes.”

John Rombough: “Yeah. Okay. Oh. That’s neat.”

CKLB: “Really appreciate the time that you took to chat with me.”

John Rombough: “I yeah, I like doing that kind of stuff. In yeah, it was nice talking about the art. I always like talking about art,”

CKLB: “Especially when you have an abundance of inspiration.”

John Rombough: “Yes, yes, I do. I’m working on like 40 paintings right now, so like 4-0.”

CKLB: “That is amazing, and this is all for your show in PEI.”

John Rombough: “Yeah. I got a show on the 25th to the 28th, and get to visit my folk or my parents and my older sister Rose, so and her family, and yeah, it should be good.”

CKLB: “Oh, that’ll be a nice get together.”

John Rombough: “Yeah,”

Stacie Arden Smith, Native Communications Society of the NWT, CKLB Radio, Local Journalism Initiative

Listen to the Interview on SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/cklbradio/john-rombough?si=cf7ad87fefd54b79a4ea0c630e9ec351&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

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