Cherrie O'Hagan

Cherrie O’Hagan is a naturalized US citizen who was born and raised in the Philippines. She completed a 5-year Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of the Philippines at a time when the country was in upheaval with the Ferdinand Marcos revolution.

 

Cherrie decided to move to Hong Kong as a flight attendant with Cathay Pacific in 1987, staying with the company for 6 years. She met her husband in Hong Kong, and together they would have 2 children and lead a nomadic life, setting up homes (a total of 10 house moves in 24 years) in Vancouver, Dubai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, San Francisco, Virginia and finally in La Canada, CA which they now call “home”.

 

In 2002, Cherrie started doing watercolor portraits while living in Hong Kong with 2 young children, quickly getting commissions with the local school and expat community through word of mouth. Each country move would bring a new set of neighborhood children to paint, and various art clubs and art workshops to join.

 

Although she did a lot of drawing and rendering as an architecture student, Cherrie first started getting serious with watercolor, taking lessons 19 years ago at the YWCA in Hong Kong, branching out to oils and acrylics throughout the years. She has studied with Shakeel Siddiqui (oils-Dubai Arts Centre, Dubai, UAE), Hong Kong Academy of Fine Arts (drawing-Hong Kong), Smith Sein Lynn (watercolor-Thailand), William Marazzi (oils- Alliance Francaise Bangkok, Thailand), Dorrallen Davis (drawing-Marin Art School, Marin, CA), Timothy Tien (oils-BMAI, Montrose CA), Sean Cheetham and Sunny Apinchapong  (oils- 3 kicks Studio, Pasadena CA), as well as a year of semi-private lessons in oil painting with Vadim Zang (Los Angeles, CA). In addition, Cherrie has done extensive uninstructed Life Drawing at College of Marin  (both Indian Valley and Kentfield campuses, Marin CA) and at McLean Project for the Arts (McLean, VA) . She recently attended watercolor workshops with Frank Eber and Birgit O’Connor.

 

Cherrie is a signature member of Watercolor West and a life member of the Watercolor Society of Thailand. She has been a member of Marin Society of Artists, Vienna Art Association, and California Art Club. She has won awards for her paintings at Burbank Art Association, Pasadena Arts Society, Verdugo Hills Art Association (current member) and Watercolor West. Because of her moves, Cherrie has had the chance to exhibit her paintings in Dubai, Hong Kong, Thailand, Virginia and California. Her work is in private collections in the US, Canada, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.