Ruth Coetzee taught herself to draw faces as a kid in 1970. Thereafter her artistic activity was rekindled in 2013. She learned to work with acrylic paint when painting stones in 2018.

Attending social art at the Geelkunshuis she has been developing as an artist through the advice given by others. She refined the old ability to draw faces with the help of Dirk van der Merwe and started using charcoal as a medium. Hannes Scholtz inspired her to explore oil painting.

She is currently involved in the Urban Sketching Group and is also learning to work with clay and resin.