Sandra Rocha was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts to Azorean Portuguese immigrants, Jose and Fatima Rocha.  As the daughter of a brick mason and and a master seamstress, creative making was ever present in her formative

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At the urging of her high school art teacher, Sandra decided to study painting, drawing, and printmaking at Rhode Island College, where she received her BA in Studio Art in 1999.  She then moved to NYC in the spring of 2001 to continue her art education at The Art Student’s League of NY, where her love for observational painting was born, as well as her appreciation for the cityscape as subject matter. She was chosen to apprentice Robert Cenedella, protege of George Grosz, in the ASL’s pilot program.  During her time in NY, she exhibited at the ASL as well the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, and The Jan Larsen Art Gallery in Brooklyn.  Sandra had two solo shows while in NY at Superfine and at Schaefer Landing in Williamsburg
 

In 2015, she had a daughter and moved to Los Angeles, California with her husband for his film career.  While raising her infant daughter, Sandra still made time to dedicate to her practice with daily drawing and small still life paintings.  A desire to be closer to family brought them to Columbus, Ohio in early 2021 where Sandra has participated in open studios at 400 West Rich, and exhibited at Blockfort Art Gallery.  
 

Her current body of work is steeped in the tradition of representational painting with a focus on the formal elements of shape, color, geometry of forms, and the general quality of the light that attracts her to a subject. Sandra is interested in the juxtaposition of built and natural forms and trying to capture a general quality and atmospheric sense of place.  She loves taking long walks through the city to find her source material and delights in finding the extraordinary in the ordinary things we see on a daily basis