Finding his Dene family brought colour into John Rombough's art
CBC
"Everyone needs colour in their life," says Chipewyan artist, John Rombough.
For the 49-year-old contemporary Woodlands painter the colour came into his work in his early 20s after reconnecting with his birth father and his Dene roots in the N.W.T.
Rombough's most recent piece is a large acrylic on canvas he finished just a few days ago.
"So it's a spring painting with the two ancestors welcoming the bear back on the land, surrounded by grandfather rocks, and everything has a spirit," Rombough said.
"And the colours just represent new growth … in the spring everything's melting and everything is becoming one again from the winter."
Rombough traces his passion for art all the way back to his early childhood.
He was born in the remote community of Sioux Lookout, Ont. At three-years-old, he and his two older sisters were adopted by Lyall and Carol Rombough, and he soon moved to Breadalbane, a small rural town located in central Prince Edward Island.
"My mom couldn't have kids. Their friends were adopting three Aboriginal kids, so they kind of were following the same idea of adopting kids," Rombough said.
"And it was really like a positive feeling, and my mother was so excited to have three of us."
Rombough and his two sisters were part of the Sixties Scoop, from roughly the early 60s to early 80s when thousands of Indigenous children were removed from their homes and adopted by non-Indigenous families.
"Some people went through the worst. Mine at least has a good, positive ending … growing up in the south and coming up to the North really shaped me to who I became and who I am now."
Rombough attributes his natural inclination for the arts to having been raised in an artistic and encouraging environment.
"My parents were really supportive of me doing art … I kind of grew up in P.E.I. surrounded by art, artistic people, and people doing pottery."
His adoptive parents also kept artwork that was reflective of their children's heritage throughout the house.
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