Cherie Strong
Cherie is an emerging Boonah artist who describes herself as a ‘work in progress’ and says she has always been looking for ways to express herself. At 16, she began work in a graphic design studio which led to her enrolment in art studies.
Cherie completed an Advanced Certificate in Art and Design at Midland TAFE, Perth in 1994. After these studies, she traveled across Europe before returning to Perth to set up a screen printing business. However, she found this "too limiting" and wanted to concentrate on fine arts, so moved to Queensland for a fresh start. Over the next 10 years, she married and produced "a number of original works of art, including five boys", while continuing to paint and develop her style.
Since moving to Boonah, Cherie has exhibited and sold her work at the Scenic Rim Art Awards, Boonah Regional Gallery, Kalbar Art Show, Ipswich Art Awards, The Old Courthouse Gallery, Ipswich, and the Boonah and Canungra shows.
Over the last few years, she has been working to "explore and experiment with colour, composition and the many hues of black and white, focusing on simplicity and boldness at the same time".
She recently held her first solo exhibition, titled "You can’t rush art...baby", at Boonah Regional Art Gallery - selling a number of paintings and receiving one commission. Currently she is "enjoying being an active member of our arts community and exploring sculpture mediums while continuing to paint".
Cherie was one of the three recipients of the 2008 Stars of the Future Awards from the Boonah and District Cultural Foundation.