Maybe some dreams never fade. They just wait for the right moment.

For Greymont artist Renette de Munnik, that moment came later in life when she finally picked up a paintbrush and discovered a talent she had always believed was inside her.

Today, the 62-year-old self-taught artist is not only creating and selling her own work internationally but is also inspiring others to embrace their own creativity through Slurp & Paint sessions.

Although many know her as an artist today, De Munnik’s career has taken many different paths. She worked in television advertising buying, planning, marketing and sales before becoming an entrepreneur, running businesses including the well-known Linden coffee shop, Crafters and Cravings, and later ReN IT Recruiters.

Yet throughout those years, one dream quietly remained. “I always felt it in my bones,” she said. “I was afraid of painting with oils, but I suppose confidence comes with age. I took the bull by the horns and taught myself to paint with oils within a year.”

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Now she laughs as she adds, “I feel I can paint anything and use all mediums.”
Art has given De Munnik far more than a new career. “It has brought me calmness. I can escape to a world where I am queen of my own destiny. Not everyone can say they make a living from something they truly enjoy.”

Her work has also found admirers beyond South Africa’s borders, with five of her oil paintings now hanging in homes in the United States and another in Denmark.
Looking back, becoming an artist feels almost inevitable. “Talent runs in my family,” she said. “Even as a child I had this hunger to paint or act. I was very expressive, and I still am.”

That passion is something she now shares with others through the Slurp & Paint events she co-hosts, where people of all ages and artistic abilities are encouraged to leave perfectionism at the door.

For De Munnik, the highlight is watching participants realise they are capable of much more than they expected.
“I love seeing the expression on people’s faces when they realise they can actually do this,” she said. “Once they learn a few simple techniques, they surprise themselves.”

She believes creativity has the power to quiet the mind and offer a welcome break from the pressures of everyday life.
“I want people to forget about the grey of the world for two or three hours,” she said. “Bring out your inner child, use all the colours on the palette and just enjoy the experience.”

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The sessions are about more than painting. They are about connection.
“It’s wonderful watching people interact, make new friends and encourage one another. We’re social creatures, and creativity brings people together.”
For anyone who believes they are too old to try something new, De Munnik’s message to you is to look up Grandma Moses. She is a celebrated American folk artist who began painting in her late 70s and achieved international recognition in her 80s.

As for what she hopes people take home after a Slurp & Paint session, it is not just a completed canvas. “I hope they realise they can do anything if they put their mind to it,” she said. “I hope they think a little more creatively in their everyday lives. Creativity adds colour to your life, and we are the Rainbow Nation after all.”

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