On My Obsession with Frida Kahlo and Why I like to Paint Her So Much

Firstly, I know I know.. my blog still looks atrocious. After consulting some professionals and getting their quote back, I'm afraid I just can't justifly $2.5k on a little ole art blog. SO I am mulling over a few different options... No. 1 - delete this blog and start again. I can't for the life of me get rid of this background that I put up years ago. I spent hours and hours trying to work it out, searching the help section and finally just gave up.. so that is one option - START AGAIN... No.2 is to start my own website and get my own domain name. This is has a cost to it, but might potentially be a better option. Anyway, a bit more time is needed to make the final decision.

But this post was meant to be about Ms Frida Kahlo and why I am a lil bit obsessed with her. So here goes for those wondering why I'm always drawn to this beautiful creature and why I want to paint her all the time....

No.1 - She was strikingly beautiful

No. 2 - She was not afraid to be different 

Frida Kahlo - dressed as a boy

No. 3 - She also loved to paint beautiful women, mainly self portraits (quite often people have said to me that my girls look a little like me)

Frida Kahlo's Self-Portrait With Necklace - 1933

I guess you could say she was the queen of selfies!

No. 4 - Her dress sense and style (not to mention those to die for statement eyebrows)

Interesting fact - Frida Kahlo's closest was locked up for 58 years and was only recently opened and exhibited. Her clothing aimed for style and self-protection but it also made a statement, both political and cultural.

No. 5 - The fact that she was not afraid to paint her pain 

The painting above, called The Two Fridas/Las Dos Fridas is one of my favorites, expressing pain and abandonment on the left, love and health on the right. It’s a sad comparison between the way Frida wanted to feel and appear vs. the unfortunate reality of her life.

Above are just a few reasons of why I am drawn to this fiesty and talented Mexican artist, and I could go on and on, but instead I'll leave you with this uber cute photo of a little girl dressed as Kahlo......

(Photo courtesy Ohhappyday.com)

On Owning It

Well my blog still looks atrocious. 

After spending pretty much a whole day trying to make it look pretty, and feeling sadder and sadder by the minute because it was just looking worse and worse.... I finally had an ah-ha moment.  

It was time to come to terms with the fact that I totally don't have the time or the inclination to fiddle around with it any more and that I'd rather be spending what precious little time I have spare - making art. So I've put the word out to a professional. Here's hoping that they get back to me soon.

So after that little hiccup, I started on this piece.

She's a big 'un. 40 x 60 inches. Just so you can see how big she is, I'm standing next to her. Ok I'm 5'2, so I am pretty short, but you can get a better feel for just how big she is when I am standing next to her. 

Titled 

el salvaje

or translated to English

The Wild One

On Being Beautiful

I love this so much!

I have a 14 year old daughter, so 

this video resonated so loudly with me.

Please take the 8 minutes to watch this video, 

even if you don't have a son or daughter around this age

I am sure that it will strike a chord with most of you.

"Social media is widening the definition of what beauty is."

On Being a Better Blogger and time for a re-vamp

This blog has always been about show casing my art. I've never felt comfortable in sharing my private life in this space. However.....

I follow A LOT of blogs and they are all inspiring and the one thing I have noticed about them all, is that they share regularly (at least on a daily basis).. that's what keeps them interesting. It doesn't have to always be about their work (whether they are an artist or a photographer), they share different bits and pieces about stuff that I either find interesting or not (if not, then I dont read it and move on to the next).

So the little ephiphany I had this morning, was that this blog doesn't have to only be about Showcasing my Art either (gosh that makes me sound like I have a huge ego), but like other artists, I can talk about what I find interesting in this world and maybe others might find a little bit interesting too.

So Step 1 on this road to newness - is time for this much neglected blog to have a big ole re-vamp! However I have no idea where to start. So I thought I would put a call out there - to all those techno savvy people that know what they are doing and perhaps we could exchange a commission piece of art, for an overhaul of this blog? what do you think?

Please have a look at my art here - https://www.facebook.com/NatalieRBriney?ref=hl  before you decide if you want to take on this challenge in exchange for a piece of my art.

I am very excited for some big changes in 2014.. It's all about striving for BALANCE....

Please contact me on brineys@bigpond.com if you are up for this challenge. :-)

Day of the Dead Inspiration

My latest painting

16 x 36 inches

Day of the Dead Inspired

"Lenore"

Close up of "Lenore" and her friend

and from another angle

and a close up of the skull.

As always, thank you for taking

the time to pop by and view my art work.

xx

testing

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