Mandy Hague was born in Whakatane and as the daughter of two talented artists it was natural that Mandy developed a passion for painting. She attended Otago Polytechnic studying Fine Art but before completing the course, took up a position as an illustrator with an advertising agency in Dunedin before taking up a position as a graphic artist in Tauranga.
In 2001, Mandy moved to Florida to paint pet portraits for wealthy clients in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Bay. She developed contacts with a number of Cherokee Native Americans and was taught the art of painting on Turkey tail feathers. After living in the U.S. for three years she was deported on an overstaying misdemeanor and returned to live in Opotiki where she resumed her occupation as a full-time painter.
Eight months later she had her first solo exhibition at the Whakatane Museum Gallery. Mandy paints using all her own photos as reference material and is a keen photographer in her own right winning the Birds-a-Plenty Festival Photography Contest in 2003. Mandy’s bird paintings are valued for their detail and lifelike accuracy. For this reason she was chosen by the New Zealand Fish and Game Council as the 2006 Duck Stamp Artist creating a stamp depicting the NZ Scaup to commemorate World Wetlands day.
Achievements and Awards
Selected work - Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Award for painting and drawing 2007
Exhibitor - Mazda Artworks, Auckland 2006
Official artist - 2006 NZ Fish and Game Council (duck stamp artist)
Winner, Portrait Award - Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Award for painting and drawing 2003, 2004, 2006
Exhibitor - In the Genes, WhakataneMuseum and Gallery 2005
Overall winner – Tauranga National Art Awards 2008
