WATCH | Leanne Manas visits Rasta's studio to buy his portrait of her

Known for often missing the mark with the portraits he paints, popular artist Lebani “Rasta” Sirenje has received a thumbs up from news broadcaster Leanne Manas.

While he has in the past been mocked for not being the “best” painter, Rasta's relentless enthusiasm for his craft finally paid off when one of his famous subjects, Leanne, decided to buy the portrait of herself.

The Morning Live presenter took to Instagram, to share a snap of herself with Rasta with a caption that read, “My painting is safely in her new home.”  

Leanne celebrated her 46th birthday last week Wednesday and she expressed how Rasta made her special day more memorable.

In a video she shared, Leanne said, “Rasta, thank you from the bottom of my heart and don't you ever stop what you're doing cause I can see your work. You put your heart and soul into this and you keep on doing what you're doing ... you made my birthday by doing this.”

A humble yet appreciative Rasta thanked Leanne for her kind gesture and expressed how grateful he was that she was still alive, unlike some of his other portrait subjects.

Last week Rasta left many people in the socials asking “who's that lady” when he shared his birthday present to the TV presenter on Twitter.

Social media users were quick to point that out how badly Rasta missed the mark. They suggested that he should put his brush down and give this painting thing a rest.

Speaking to TshisaLIVE last year about the backlash his paintings often get, Rasta said people were too quick to judge his works of art.

“People can't just wake up and say I must stop painting, that would kill me ... Rather they say go change this or learn this and I'll improve.”