“Why Do You Love Frida Kahlo?”: The Art of Seeing Her—and Yourself
We all know someone who says Frida Kahlo is their favorite artist. Maybe you’ve said it too. But have you ever paused to ask yourself why?
Frida’s life is filled with drama, pain, boldness, myth. But when I sat down to paint her as part of my Masters Reimagined series, I realized—loving Frida often tells us more about ourselves than about her.
What draws us to her? Is it the physical pain she endured after her accident at 18? The betrayal by her partner—Diego—who had an affair with her sister? Her defiant self-portraits? Her surreal symbolism and refusal to soften herself for the sake of approval?
For me, it's the feeling that she never abandoned her own voice. She painted through pain, through joy—always rooted in what felt true. And that invites us, especially as women, to ask: Am I doing that too?
This post walks through my process of painting her—two studies and a final portrait—and the quiet realizations I had along the way. I hope it invites you to reflect too.
🌿 Why Frida for July?
I chose Frida not because she’s popular, but because I’ve circled back to her again and again since I was 16. My mom worked with Japanese artist Yasumasa Morimura, who had recreated Frida’s Broken Column as a self-portrait. That was my introduction to her.
Years later, I wanted to paint her—not to replicate her, but to understand what still pulls me toward her work, even now.
🎨 Study 1: Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird
This one was a cropped 8x10" study—I removed the monkey (sorry, monkey), and focused on the color palette: soft terracotta red, green, and purple-blacks. I don’t normally paint with green, but I loved how these colors vibrate next to each other.
Frida often painted animals, not as decoration but as emotional messengers. That resonated deeply—I noticed how often animals show up in my own work, even unintentionally. This piece made me ask: what symbols am I using without realizing?
🖤 Study 2: The Broken Column
This painting has always stayed with me. It was one of the first Frida pieces I ever encountered. Even as a teenager, I remember thinking: She’s telling us exactly how it feels.
It’s haunting and vulnerable. The tears. The nails. The exposed spine. You don’t need an art degree to understand what she’s showing you.
What I learned while painting it: Frida’s works may be filled with symbols, but they never feel calculated. They come from somewhere deep and raw. That reminded me that clarity in art doesn’t mean being literal—it means being honest.
🦋 The Final Portrait (12x10”)
For each Masters Reimagined painting, I set a structure:
12x10" hot press paper
Portrait aligned to the left
Vertical format
One symbolic element: a moth
Why moths? I can’t fully explain. I’ve always felt drawn to them. For Frida, I chose the White Witch Moth, which lives in Central and South America. Ghostlike. Huge wingspan. Quietly powerful.
I set a few rules going in:
🌸 Her flower crown
🦋 The moth becomes part of her—like a dress, not an accessory
🖤 Her eyebrows, bold but not exaggerated
❤️ A soft trickle of red. Not dramatic—just present. Because I always connect Frida with the color red
“Why do I need feet when I have wings to fly?”
That quote stuck with me. I tried to echo it in the moth’s upward movement—like the wings she didn’t need permission to claim.
✍🏼 On Cohesiveness and Finding Your Voice
Here’s what I want to share with other artists:
Cohesiveness doesn’t come from painting the same way every time. It comes from setting gentle boundaries—a format, a recurring element—and letting your voice explore inside that space.
Even while painting artists with wildly different styles, I’m learning to hold onto what matters to me. With Frida, it was tempting to mimic her surrealism, her bold symbolism. But I had to ask: what would I keep? What would I let go?
In the end, Frida reminds me—and maybe you too—that we don’t have to explain everything. We just have to make what feels honest.
🎥 Watch the Full Video
Want to see how it all came together?
👉 https://youtu.be/oWlr8Vi9J9s
Includes both studies + final portrait. And a deeper look at the process and colors.
