Much maligned celebrity painter, Rasta, claims he's ready to launch his very own painting academy for people who want to learn how to paint. This is not a joke.
Lebani Sirenje, who is popularly known as Rasta, is famous for his celebrity portraits which are usually reserved for famous funerals and massive national occasions. He's painted fallen legends such as HHP (It looked NOTHING like him...), Pro, Oliver Mtukudzi, and even political icons such as Mam Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Nelson Mandela.
The reviews to his work have been, um, mixed, it would be fair to say -- and we'll come back to this in a moment -- but he's now determined to share his talent with the rest of the world in the form of his very own painting academy. The painter spoke to Tshisa Live where he revealed his intentions for his school by saying:
Lebani Sirenje, who is popularly known as Rasta, is famous for his celebrity portraits which are usually reserved for famous funerals and massive national occasions. He's painted fallen legends such as HHP (It looked NOTHING like him...), Pro, Oliver Mtukudzi, and even political icons such as Mam Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Nelson Mandela.
The reviews to his work have been, um, mixed, it would be fair to say -- and we'll come back to this in a moment -- but he's now determined to share his talent with the rest of the world in the form of his very own painting academy. The painter spoke to Tshisa Live where he revealed his intentions for his school by saying:
"I decided that now is the time to do this academy. You have to talk about it and take a chance. I have been meeting with people and I am still looking for sponsorships."
According to the report, the academy could even be launched next month in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. However, there's still the small matter of the fact that most people simply don't think Rasta is very accurate in his paintings...
Rasta's paintings sell up to 15k here is some of his work STOP HATING
— 4D Shangaan (@NoChill4D) August 16, 2018
Vusi mbuli
Winnie Madikezela
Nelson Mandela
Prokid pic.twitter.com/DrGHUiRgcZ
Responding to this criticism for the umpteenth time, the painter said:
"There will always be critics. But there needs to be a teacher. You can't criticise the teacher but you aren't a teacher yourself. There are many people who are criticising me and trying to pull me down, but this is my dream."
Well, we tried to tell him. The best we can do now is support Rasta's dream and hope that his vision comes to fruition. In the meantime, if he's too busy to attend celebrity funerals while he's teaching others how to paint, we might have found a worthy replacement.
Do you think that Rasta's Academy of the Arts will be a success?
Read Next: All Our Stories On Rasta!
Main Image Credit: Twitter