Hennie was born in 1941 and had a normal, quiet middle-class childhood. He grew up quite independently as the only boy amongst four sisters. He always had an intense interest in art and books and would spend hours as a child looking at framed art in shop windows, or look up different artworks in the books of the school’s library. As a child, he experimented extensively with media available to him at the time and sometimes used the back of a cereal box to draw on. 

He qualified as a teacher in 1964 and after 19 years of teaching decided to move to Onrus to pursue a full-time career as an artist. He shared a lengthy correspondence with Gregoire Boonzaier who showed an interest in Hennie and his art for quite a period, and it was ultimately Gregoire’s encouragement that led to him moving to Onrus, and becoming Gregoire’s neighbour and painting partner. Side by side they would paint trees, scenery and still life paintings together,   and to this day Gregoire’s influence is noticeable in some of Hennie’s works.

Early in his career, Hennie studied Pieter Wenning and of course Gregoire Boonzaier, and later discovered the French Impressionists, like Monet, Vuillard, and shortly after that, the Flemish expressionists like Constant Permeke, and Gustaaf de Smet, and they all had had a great impact on his life.

As a young adult Hennie attended retrospective exhibitions abroad, for instance, artists like Soutine, Degas, Van Gogh, Rouault, Bonnard, Seurat, Picasso to name a few.

Later on, German expressionism also became one of his favourite art movements including the likes of Max Pechstein and Otto Mueller. His paintings often reflect a combination of Flemish and German Expressionism.Father Claerhout also made a huge impact on him, and he became associated with Expressionism. During Hennie’s time as a teacher at Tweespruit agricultural school, he became very good friends with Father Claerhout. His generous attitude towards others and his humble demeanour made a great impression on Hennie, and it guides his life to this day.

Hennie’s magic comes from his ability to paint in so many different styles and genres.

He has established a vast following of local collectors, but his work is part of some very substantial private local and international collections.

Hennie’s work, style and influencesHe is well known for his more traditional works comprising Harvesters and Fynbos Pickers (our district is the only location on earth where fynbos can be found, making it even more meaningful as subject matter). His other genres are Abstracts, Ballet, Bistre, Clowns, Dreams, Faces Amongst Flowers, Fishermen, Fisherman’s Houses,Harvesters, Interiors, Landscapes, Linocuts, Monotypes, Musical instruments, Raka (a series – a work in progress), Sculptures, Seascapes, Still Life and Various other topics. Recently he founded a Limited Edition Prints company, in part to fund Nika Trust. Nika Trust is focussed on poverty relief especially in the food supply and education arenas.

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