Antoinette van der Merwe was born 7 October 1969 and grew up in Rustenburg, North West. She matriculated at Bergsig High School with Art as a main subject. Her love to paint was encouraged when she moved from Rustenburg to Hartbeespoort Dam in 2001. Here she enrolled at the Pieter Millard School of Art. She studied impressionism for almost 3 years with the well known and beloved Pieter Millard, a popular name amongst art lovers. Pieter Millard was a student of the late master, Adriaan Boshoff.

Only after Ernie Nice, the son of the well known Christiaan Nice, an art investor and dealer encouraged her to paint full time; she started to paint on a daily basis.