The Douglas Shire Historical Society has been offered a display space worthy of the four Strom Gould Art Works they have had in storage.

Thanks to the Beautiful Arts partnership of Meridien Marina and the Cairns Regional Council they will go on display in October in the Meridien Mirage.
 
Two of the paintings; "The Trammies Daughter" and "Strom's Self Portrait" that were purchased last year by the society during the Go Troppo Arts Festival reflect the experimental nature, the brilliant technique and the colourful humour of the artist. These were painted in his Flagstaff Hill studio in the late 80's.
 
The two Court House Hotel bar paintings were initially painted and entered by Strom in the "Castlemaine Perkins Art Awards" on consecutive years in the early 80's.

Both "The Nightwatch" and "Courthouse X1" were painted of the then front bar and regular patrons at hotel. In these, the larrikin in Strom and his mates, few of whom are still with us, are portrayed with a sophisticated cartoon style along  with incredible attention to detail and Strom humour.
 
These two bar paintings have been around.  From the Brisbane brewery and back to the hotel back bar room (at that time). They were then purchased from Strom by Henry Christensen (Henry the fisherman) and were featured on the wall of Henry's Bar at the then Marina Mirage.

Back in storage after the bar closed Henry offered them to the DSHS to keep in good condition and to display, enabling todays residents and visitors a glimpse of the good times and good mates of the Port Douglas community in the 1980's.
 
On 27 October the DSHS and Beautiful Art Spaces will launch the "Strom Display" along with the history of this unique artist and person at the Meridien Marina at 6pm - all are invited to attend.

The Historical Society invite those in the community who have Strom Artwork to display their paintings for this night only at the launch to make it a truly Strom night.
 
The other big news is that the DSHS will make available a one-off limited print run on these four paintings as prints on small canvas, stretched on frame which can be ordered on the launch night.

This offers Strom enthusiasts and local historians the opportunity to invest in the art history of Port Douglas, and what it is envisaged to become collectables in the future.
 
As an extra bonus one set of the four prints will be raffled on the launch night and will be limited to 200 tickets only. To pre-purchase your raffle tickets in what will be a sought after prize, the tickets will be available at In Port Shoes, Macrossan Street.
 
To enquire about displaying your Strom Art on the night of the launch, or if you know someone that has Strom Art or drawings please call Yvonne on 40994195 or yohara@bigpond.com and delight the many Strom fans in attendance.