About
Helena-Marie Liebenberg was born in Bloemfontein in 1968 and lived all her childhood in the nearby town of Bultfontein. From the age of 5, she attended the primary school there and later went on to attend the town’s high school. “Growing up in Bultfontein was wonderful,” says Helena-Marie, “There was no peer pressure…you were just allowed to be who you are.”
From a small child, Helena-Marie loved to draw and often gifted her cousins and friends with renderings of popular fairy-tale characters, which she copied from her colouring-in books. With no art classes being offered in Bultfontein her talent was not promoted, despite everyone enjoying her art. “If you can teach your child anything,” says Helena-Marie, “teach them creativity…it’s the only thing computers won’t be able to do in twenty years.”
After high school, Helena-Marie received her Master’s Degree in Human Movement Science and went into the fitness and training industry. Her passion for fitness stemmed from making things look different. “I took people and made them look different, there’s a satisfaction for me in this,” says Helena-Marie. However, due to her long working hours, little time was left for her to do what she loved most.
Recently, Helena-Marie decided to leave the fitness industry and pursue her true passion. “I want to be known as an artist and become the best that I can be,” says Helena-Marie, “I want to do something special. Sometimes people wait so long to do something special, that they don’t end up doing anything. So I took an art form that I enjoy, and maybe it leads me to something else later, but that later is not going to come if I don’t do something now.”
Helena-Marie creates her stunning Botanical Art while overlooking the ocean from her beach home in Blue Horizon Bay, a suburb of Port Elizabeth. “The environment certainly helps,” says Helena-Marie. Many things have influenced her art over the years such as travels to Italy, Paris, and Scotland, but her greatest encouragement comes from her husband, Jack. “He is one of my biggest motivators,” says Helena-Marie, “He believes in my ability, especially in times when I don’t.”
Helena-Marie’s preferred art medium is painting with water color and sketching with pencil. She has also worked with pastels and charcoal. Helena-Marie loves to improve her skills with every new painting. “With art, if you’re disciplined in it, you get better at it all the time,” says Helena-Marie. Art lovers can certainly look forward to many of Helena-Marie’s colorful and cheerful creations, each one undoubtedly better than the one before.