Lynne Boyer

Wednesday - May 19, 2005

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From champion surfer to successful artist, it’s been a long 20 years since MidWeek last chatted with Lynne Boyer, who appeared on the cover in August 1985. The Pennsylvania-born, Kailua-raised woman came to the the world’s attention with consecutive world surfing championship titles in ’78 and ’79. Her aggressive style kept her at the top of the sport until she gave it up a few years later. It was then that she turned back to her childhood love of art and on to the next phase of her life.

“Surfing took over my life during that period,” she says. “It was way more fun than art. I was traveling the world and becoming known as a sports star. But when I was doing that, I was thinking I would always come back to this (her art).”

Now,her seascapes, landscapes and scenes of the North Shore can be found in galleries on Oahu and Maui. But it hasn’t been the easiest of transitions.

“It took a while. I had a house cleaning business until I was able to build my art business,” she says. “To be a successful artist you have to get used to the business side of it. If you want to quit being a starving artist, you have to learn the business side.”

Now that she no longer has to spend time indoors making sure people’s homes are spotless, the girl from Kailua beach can spend more time outside among the surroundings she uses for inspiration, her easel replacing a mop bucket and art filling a piece that had been missingfrom her life since leaving her earlier career.

“Since I discovered outdoor painting, it’s filled that void (left by surfing). It’s not as gnarly as it was then. The competition, that was hard to do. That was a hard life then. But I got the spark back in my life again because it’s so close to nature, just like surfing is.”

Don’t let all this talk of canvas and oil fool you, Boyer has not given up on her love of the sport. Though she does admit that, like most of us, age and minor bumps and bruises means she can’t surf as much as she would like, that just gives her more time to paint. So things aren’t too bad, Kailua and the North Shore being a few of her favorite places to unleash her brushes.

“I love painting out there. I feel a connection. But now I’ve discovered Maui and Kauai. There is always something new so you don’t get bored.”