Hérine Niehaus-Fourie

 

Born 1952 in Pretoria where she practiced art as a hobby since high school. As housewife and mother she did portraits and designed publicity material on commission basis. In 1987 the family with four children moved to Stellenbosch and settled in the beautiful winelands. The picturesque town and environment and the festive atmosphere of Stellenbosch and its people, was the main inspiration for her as amateur photographer. Within a few years, the Stellenbosch Tourism and Information Bureau as well as the Stellenbosch Winroute started using Hérine's photos for publicity material. 

 

Before she started painting full time in watercolour, she was involved with the management of the Libertas Choir, worked at the Music Library of the Conservatoire and managed her own coffee shop in the heart of the village. Tourist interest in art works of Stellenbsch scenes were the reason why she started to paint on commission basis. In 1990 she attended a course in watercolour painting under Surene Krynauw, a well known artist from Gordons Bay and four years later took a course in oil painting under Vernon Swart at the PJ Olivier Art Centre in Stellenbosch. 

 

Since 1993 she participated in group exhibitions at the Stellenbosch Art Gallery and was also invited to exhibit in Leuven, Belgium. It was during this time that she received numerous requests to paint houses, schols, offices, and historical buildings - not only of Stellenbsch, but also Cape Town, Belgium, and Rome.

 

A suggestion by an academic to compile a book, led to the publication of Stellenbosch - University Town on the banks of the Eersteriver, in 1998. The book was published by Human & Rosseau and the 27 paintings in watercolour, which were all used for the illustrations, are owned by the SASOL Art Museum.

 

Hérine's second book, Stellenbosch Winelands, on the Stellenbosch Wine routes, was released in September 2003 in English, Afrikaans and German. 

 

A souvenir map, Stellenbosch Winelands, compiled from some illustrations from this book was also published. Detailed and accurate, this is a map - also painted in watercolours - of the mountains, rivers, roads, and farms of the region. 

 

Later in her career, she was mentored by the famous Catharina (Kitty) de Bliquy, where her not only her passion, but talent as a true artist flourished. She is now settled in the beautiful Kleinmond where she will pursue a whole new transformation as artist.