In living color

Louis Rogai’s “Selected Works: 1972-Present:” Oct. 6-29. Opening reception Fri., Oct. 7, 6-9 p.m., AFA Gallery (514 Lackawanna Ave., Scranton). Info: louisrogai.com, 570.969.1040 or Artistsforart.com

Most artists don’t choose the profession because they’re money hungry or under the misconception that it’s a steady job. Most do it because they have to. They feel it in their souls. They don’t know how not to create. That seems to have been the case for Lou Rogai, an artist who juggled family, work and school in the pursuit of his passion.

“I always knew that no matter what happened in my life, I would always paint,” Rogai said in a phone interview from his home in Wayne County.

Mild-mannered and polite — shy, even — Rogai, not to be confused with his musician son of the same name, seems to save his ferocity for the canvas. Bold color and sharp angles create an impactful presence in acrylic that will be on display in a show titled “Selected Works: 1972-Present” at the AFA Gallery in Scranton Oct. 6-29 with an opening reception Friday, Oct. 7 from 6-9 p.m.

The last time Rogai had a showing was in 1974 at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn where he received his master’s in painting and sculpture on a fellowship the same year. The pieces in the AFA show are a collection of his favorites, eight of which came straight from the walls of his home and the rest from the homes of his two sons.

Rogai, who attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City on a scholarship and Brooklyn College CUNY before Pratt, noted that his art isn’t something he can force. There needs to be a catalyst.

“A lot has to do with events that happen in my lifetime,” he explained. “That’s why the paintings don’t come as often as I would like them to arrive.”

For example, he’s recently experienced a surge of motivation thanks to the upcoming show.

“I have two more ideas to paint,” Rogai said. “The empty wall was an incentive, because I had an idea, but once I realized the walls were going to be empty, I said, ‘I don’t want to stare at (them) for a month.’”

Rogai loved his time in school, especially at Pratt, where he was provided with a studio space since his large canvasses were tough to work with in his tiny Brooklyn apartment. But after graduating and with three children (he also has a daughter) to care for, he found a job loading trailers in a grocery warehouse.

“So that’s mostly the reason, I guess, I was not pursuing the art 100 percent,” he said. “I was just trying to make a living and provide for my family. Once in a while, I’d do a canvas.”

Rogai did use art as a form of livelihood, accepting a job about a year later teaching painting, drawing and photography to elementary, junior high and high school students, which brought him to NEPA. He taught for 36 years in Sullivan County, N.Y., but his painting has always been more personal.

“I’ve had people approach me to do commissions, and I just told them, I don’t do commissions,” he said. “I wouldn’t make something that someone else wanted the way they wanted it — I just do it for myself.”