I was born on Mornington Is.
My father was Waanyi a mainlander and my mother Lardil.
I went to school and I stayed with my grandparents as my mother was away working on a station on the mainland. When I was in my twenties I went to live in Normanton and Croydon.
I returned to Mornington in 1982 to marry my late husband Bruce Chong.
We have 6 children 2 girls and 4 boys and 17 grandchildren. I used to do a lot of shell work making pictures by glueing shells onto canvas boards and making necklaces.
I started painting at school using chalk and crayons and developed a love of painting at a young age. Arnold Watt a painter who painted alongside Dick & Lindsey Roughsey taught me a lot when I was young and he told me to keep at it and I ll get better.
It was good to come and start painting at the Art Centre with Arnold before he passed away.
It made me feel like a real artist. My husband and I spent a lot of time out bush with our kids.
His outstation was at Gabunyaree where we had a house.
I used to do shell work and paint at our outstation and sell it around town. I only recently started painting at the Art Centre so I could join in with the group and not paint on my own.
I love to paint about my culture and country.
I paint 2 days a week at the Art centre like a part time job and I enjoy being there as part of the Art Centre family enjoying each others company and stories..
I was born on Mornington Is.
My father was Waanyi a mainlander and my mother Lardil.
I went to school and I stayed with my grandparents as my mother was away working on a station on the mainland. When I was in my twenties I went to live in Normanton and Croydon.
I returned to Mornington in 1982 to marry my late husband Bruce Chong.
We have 6 children 2 girls and 4 boys and 17 grandchildren. I used to do a lot of shell work making pictures by glueing shells onto canvas boards and making necklaces.
I started painting at school using chalk and crayons and developed a love of painting at a young age. Arnold Watt a painter who painted alongside Dick & Lindsey Roughsey taught me a lot when I was young and he told me to keep at it and I ll get better.
It was good to come and start painting at the Art Centre with Arnold before he passed away.
It made me feel like a real artist. My husband and I spent a lot of time out bush with our kids.
His outstation was at Gabunyaree where we had a house.
I used to do shell work and paint at our outstation and sell it around town. I only recently started painting at the Art Centre so I could join in with the group and not paint on my own.
I love to paint about my culture and country.
I paint 2 days a week at the Art centre like a part time job and I enjoy being there as part of the Art Centre family enjoying each others company and stories..