Radiant Joni

We met in a tiny cafe in some back alley in Varanasi. Two redheads, sitting at separate tables, sketching in notebooks, fumbling over words as we each tried to speak Hindi to the shop owner and his young son.

Turned out we both knew and adored the same guy – she as a lover – me as a dear, Burner friend – who was also traveling solo through India at the time.

We spent a lot of time together over the next several months, going our separate ways, then meeting up again in places across India. We made collaborative art together, explored beaches and towns, shared meals and sat darshan with Mother Meera.

I quickly grew fond of her exuberant laugh, her youthful vibrancy, her insistence on going barefoot everywhere – her proud exclamations of 'I'm Dutch!' – she was exceptionally easy to love.

This portrait was taken during one of a million, beautifully unscripted moments in a small beach town called Gokarna, just a few hours south of Goa. It was absurdly hot, yet Joni looked stunning, as always. We were in a tiny barber shop where our mutual friend (our initial connection) was getting a proper shave.

It was the kind of moment I dream of – the kind I'm not so good at constructing but highly skilled at seeing.

All was perfect to my eye – the diffuse light reflected from outside – the gorgeous contrast of her copper hair against the green wall behind her – the soft framing of her shawl – the gracefully wilting flowers, so perfectly matching her relaxed expression – her unflinching gaze, hiding nothing of her strength and brilliance.