Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo (July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954) was a mexican painter who used vibrant colors and a mix of cubism and surrealism to express herself. She painted numerous self portraits with personal life experiences incorporated in them. This portrait above is one example. She was in a terrible accident with a bus and a trolley car leaving her bedridden for months in a full body cast. She used this time to learn how to paint and used herself as her subject matter. Most of her work was self portraiture. She suffered terrible bouts of pain throughout her back and legs from the accident all her life. Her work was twisted and kind of creepy which I really like.
I chose her because of her influence on me. She is emotionally inspired and I love her creativity. She used a simplistic approach to her work and it works. Not a lot of shading and blending to create depth but has great attention to detail. I am attracted to her work also because it speaks to many women. When she was pregnant and miscarried she was depressed and expressed herself through a series of paintings which a lot of women can relate to. Its very raw, sad and personal. As an artist, she has greatly influenced me and my ambition to express myself. I love how her work is aesthetically appealing due to its graphic nature and awkward approach. Its originality is unique to her and will forever be influential in the "art world". She is political, honest, raw, beautiful and forever immortal.