by Andrea Chothia
Celebrity painter Lebani Sirenje, otherwise known as Rasta, has taken a go at painting Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, at OR Tambo airport, after the wave of South Africa’s World Cup Rugby victory.
According to a Twitter user, Sirenje said that Siya Kolisi is a captain that has united a nation and should be celebrated.
What Twitter had to say about Rasta’s Siya Kolisi painting
Tweeps have since been poking fun at the painting, which is nothing new, saying that it looks nothing like Kolisi.
One tweet read: “Rasta gives us Boya Kolisi, brother of Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi
Another read: “Patiently waiting for Rasta to give us a painting of some dude we don’t know and call it Siya Kolisi.
Patient waiting for Rasta to give us a painting of some dude we don’t know and call it Siya Kolisi pic.twitter.com/cyaNEDgRiW— MQADI (@Tshikili) November 3, 2019
Rasta’s portfolio includes…
Sirenje has made a name for himself by painting late celebrities and public figures.
He has painted Hugh Masekela, HHP, Winnie Mandela, Joe Mafela, Prokid, Beyonce, Jay-Z, President Cyril Ramaphosa and many more.
Backlash that Rasta has received
Over the years, Rasta has received his fair share of negative comments about his work. When he began painting the late Zimbabwean jazz legend Oliver Mtukudzi, Twitter users were not happy, saying that he shouldn’t bother.
Sirenje has received some backlash over his paintings and according to TimesLive, he says:
“I have been drawing for a long time, since my high school days and it’s my passion something that I live for. What people don’t understand is that painting is a process and it’s not a fast process. There’s a lot of steps that must be taken from the first sketch to the final product.
The problem now is that the minute I sit down, someone takes a picture of my incomplete work and says to Twitter, ‘Look at Rasta’s painting!’ but at that stage the picture is not done, so it doesn’t look great because it isn’t done. But Twitter doesn’t care, they go ahead and judge anyway,” Rasta said.
Siya Kolisi changed the game
This time, before the Springboks arrived home at OR Tambo, Tweeps were already tagging Rasta, begging him to paint Siya Kolisi.
“I act like I’m okay but deep down I’m waiting on Rasta to draw Siya Kolisi,” said one user.
