At age ten he was first introduced to oil paint and painted his first canvases. In the late 1970s, he worked on the restoration of the organ shutters in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. Here he learned techniques of 17th century painters. He was inspired by the landscapes and menagerie of the 17th century, something that is clearly reflected in his current work.
Beginning in 1986, he devoted himself full-time to painting. Three years later he travels to Tanzania for the first time, where he falls in love with the vast steppeland landscape and wildlife. In total, van Heerde made eighteen different trips to Africa until 2010.