Kasinda Faase
It’s a rare and wonderful thing when you meet someone and you instantly feel that you’ve known each other for a thousand years. There’s something in the air that tells you both that somewhere in a past that neither of you remember, you’ve already done all the introductory and “getting to know each other” years, and you can both instantly jump into the comfortable banter of long-term friends. That’s how I felt when Kasinda walked into the Evelyn’s bottle shop one day. Since then, she has continued to impress me with her sense of humour, musicianship, and appreciation of the finer things in life. One of her facets that I aimed to portray was her sense of duality; one moment she seems childlike, and then with an effortless turn of her head, she transforms into a sophisticated, almost regal-looking woman. Also, the subtle, understated nature of a lot of her musical output contrasts with some of her wardrobe, for instance her shirt in the portrait, which she was wearing when she came to my studio. Her abilities as a multi-instrumentalist, tackling vocals, guitar, flute and saxophone with equal ease and aplomb continue to inspire me, for instance in her bands Heavy Amber, FLY, Zelkova and also in Afrospace Jazz Industry. Doing this portrait was an honour and a pleasure.