Mandy Boyd is a national bowls champion and wedding painter. Photo / Supplied
There are many similarities between the high pressures of the bowling green to the strokes of paint on a canvas.
That’s the view of 10-time national bowling champion Mandy Boyd, who likely has one of the rarest skills for a sportsperson in New Zealand.
Because when she’s not on her home turf of Elmwood Park, being a mother for her two daughters or working as an early education teacher, you will find her behind an easel at someone else’s wedding, where she does live paintings to mark the special occasion.
Boyd is one of New Zealand’s few live event painters, which has involved her travelling from her Christchurch base across the country to capture many magical moments.
Couples tend to choose what moment they want turned into art and Boyd arrives at the venue early to begin painting the backdrop. When the bride and groom arrive to exchange vows, she snaps an image and begins painting them into it, trying to capture their likeness while both are present before taking it back to the studio to apply the finishing touches.
It was not something Boyd had planned to do but she became intrigued after seeing a video on TikTok of painters in the United States producing such art.
Her breakthrough opportunity came in 2021 when she saw a couple wanting a live wedding painter, so she reached out, put her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree to good use and hasn’t looked back since.
“Painting that first wedding, compared to all the huge bowls moments I’ve been in, was the most nervous I’ve been,” Boyd told the Herald.
“Now I understand the timing of it and everything it’s not a worry any more, but that first one was a bit nerve-wracking. Getting the exact, perfect likeness can be where the pressure is.”
Pressure is where Boyd thrives and she loves having the ability to perform under it, whether that is with a brush in her hand, or on the bowling green where she usually serves in the skip position, the last player on a team to bowl.
“In both of those parts of my life, you get high-pressure situations,” Boyd said.
“When I’m painting, I have eight hours to get an almost finished piece. While in bowls, I’m often the last person to play in the team and one of my strengths is playing a pressure bowl when the game is on the line.”
The paintings are often organised by the bride or groom, but sometimes they are a surprise arranged by friends or family and Boyd has seen demand from people for a painting to mark the occasion increase.
While the finished product is a work of art, the entire process is a journey in itself as Boyd can draw a crowd at the venue with guests captivated by the process, which sometimes serves as a form of entertainment during the reception.
“Everyone sees you when they arrive, starting it off, and then through the cocktail hour they start seeing things taking shape,” Boyd said.
“By the end of the reception there are lots of people who are sort of shocked at how far through the painting I managed to get on the day and they just love watching the start to finish.
“It’s about being able to have a cool painting to always have and treasure, and quite a few of my weddings have been surprise gifts and that is always quite cool.”
Boyd said the most unusual wedding she’s painted at was when a bride rode her childhood horse down the aisle, and one view that continues to elude her is the majestic scenes of Queenstown and Wānaka.
On the green, Boyd wrote her name into the record books in January by becoming the third woman to capture 10 national bowls titles when she claimed her first singles crown.
She beat Leanne Poulson in the final to put her name alongside New Zealand Hall of Famers Millie Khan and Cis Winstanley.
Having lost in the singles final twice before, Boyd was pleased to come out on top in a discipline she doesn’t tend to focus on.
“It was definitely unexpected,” Boyd said. “I was just playing in the singles because the event was in Christchurch and it was easy enough to just go along.”
Boyd also captured her third pairs title alongside Kristen Edwards to go with six fours titles.
Boyd was part of the New Zealand fours that won bronze at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, but she doesn’t intend to compete in the Games this year.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.