Late Bloomer
By Jessica Laskey
March 2025
David Sobon, who founded Wide Open Walls mural festival, has something special on his own walls.
“As I gaze at two of my Norma Roos paintings in my living room, I see something different every time I spend time with them,” Sobon says. “The passion, emotion and skill that she has in her abstract work just boggles my mind.”
Sobon is not alone. Roos, 88, is having commercial succcess with art that’s lived in her soul since childhood. Her abstract paintings sold fast in two solo shows at Twisted Track Gallery on R Street.
Photography By Linda Smolek
“I love creativity,” Roos says. “I drew a lot as a young child. In junior high, an art teacher saw potential in me and told my mom she should put me in art classes. That never happened. My mom was a single mom doing the best she could. So I did it on my own, studying art history and different art concepts.”
As Roos educated herself, she brought her findings to work—a kindergarten classroom.
As a teacher for more than 30 years, Roos did “a lot with my students to help them love and appreciate art. We did art projects every week, from painting portraits and finger painting to making mobiles and collages and studying different artists. I developed their creativity alongside my own. Creativity is limitless.”
Roos’ professional path didn’t include art until later in life. She attended Sacramento City College, then received a bachelor’s degree and teaching credential from Hayward State and a master’s from UC Davis.
When she started “taking art more seriously,” she returned to Sac City to study with Fred Dalke, Michaele LeCompte, Teiko Sasser, Laureen Landau, Terry Peterson and Marcelle Wiggins.
As someone who believes “there’s always room for improvement,” Roos dedicated herself to exploring different mediums, including vibrant abstracts in color and black and white.
A dozen years ago, Roos tried to get her work into local galleries. “There was a lot of rejection,” she says. An encounter with David Sobon proved serendipitous.
“At our first chance meeting years ago, I was immediately attracted to the kind, soft-spoken beautiful person she was,” Sobon says. “I was immediately invited to come take a look at her work in her home and I instantly became a collector.”
Sobon helped Roos hold an art auction in 2018. Roos says the event “didn’t take off,” but Sobon introduced her to the team led by Matt Haines at Twisted Track Gallery. They saw star talent.
In 2022, Roos had her first Twisted Track show, which Sobon reports made her “the bestselling artist ever in Twisted Track Gallery history.”
After her second show in September, Roos returned to her home studio to brainstorm her next project. She’s excited to try metallics and muted colors.
“You can plan it all out, but there are always changes. You have to be flexible,” Roos says of her painting process, which usually includes listening to jazz.
“I go into my soul and go as deep as I can possibly go. I’m a very spiritual, religious person. I ask for help when I’m doing each and every painting, guidance and delivery to do my very, very best and to enjoy what I’m doing.”
Find Roos on Instagram @normasroos. Twisted Track Gallery is at 1730 12th St. For information, visit twistedtrackgallery.life.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
