Cassie Matthews: The A List artist in residence.

It’s pretty easy to place Cassie Matthews as the cutesy girl-next-door with the blue eyes and the cheeky grin, but would that do her justice? I don’t think so… The pleasure of this “job” is that I get to sit down and chat with interesting people about all sorts of stuff to see what makes them tick. And wouldn’t you know? People do the most interesting things!

The 22 year old from Howick is one smart cooky and quite a talented artist, in the strangest medium… When not study for her Communications degree at AUT, Cassie likes to paint in the style of Wayne Thiebaud, an American pop artist who specializes in painting food with thickly applied paint, but actually ON cakes! Yes! Delicious, baked foodstuffs! Wacky but cool. Not only that, but she’s a fluent French speaker. 

See? Not just a pretty face. You’ll be seeing more of this girl.

D. Mark Harrison:  What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Cassie Matthews:  An image of a tropical island and cocktails springs to mind at first, but I can probably define it as having everything to look forward to and nothing to fear.

DMH:  Which living person do you most admire?

CM:  Beyonce Knowles. She is an amazing artist, is incredibly hot and super rich and famous, but somehow manages to stay down to earth and keep her cool. I think humility is what sets apart the attractive from the beautiful.

DMH:  What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

CM:  I’m very impatient! I get excited about things I’m doing and want to make them happen straight away. I need to be active or getting something done all the time.

DMH:  What is the trait you most deplore in others?

CM:  Bitchiness - It’s so pointless and unattractive. Just thinking about how much time girls tend to spend bitching makes me exhausted.

DMH:  What is your greatest extravagance?

CM:  Probably expensive sunglasses… It’s a bit of an obsession once you get started. Just got myself a new pair of Karen Walkers. They automatically make me feel sexy!

DMH:  On what occasion do you lie?

CM:  Only when truly necessary, to keep a friend’s confidence or if it was to save a life. I’m honest with people the majority of the time, because I can’t think of anything I’d need to lie about at the moment!

DMH:   What do you most dislike about your appearance?

CM:  My naturally fair complexion…Yes I am very white and don’t tan well….Fake tan is my best friend and saviour in summer!

DMH:  When and where were you happiest?

CM:  Hard to say but if I could say which place makes me happiest it would be at a beach with white sand and clear water on a hot day, pretty self-explanatory!

DMH:  If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

CM:  I’d be a millionaire, duh!

DMH:  If you could change one thing about your family what would it be?

CM:  I would change the fact that most of my family is in South Africa, it would be awesome to have them over here.

DMH:  What is your most treasured possession?

CM:  Would it be really superficial to say G.H.D?

DMH:  What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

CM:  Having someone close to you die, I don’t think anything can beat that.

DMH:  What is it that you most dislike?

CM:  Flaws in the New Zealand criminal justice system, Poverty and the obsessive and manipulative nature of the media.

DMH:  How would you like to die?
CM:  What kind of a question is that? What delightful options do I get to pick from? I guess I’ll just live fast, die pretty, and avoid growing old!

DMH:   What is your motto?

CM:  “Discipline is deciding between what you want now and what you want most.”