Happy birthday, Frida Kahlo! This woman is what sparked me into painting, healing through art, and learning about myself. Most of my work are autobiographical but they don't go any where as deep as this woman has gone. She is truly inspirational.

One of the main things that I find so encouraging was that she didn't started out as a trained artist. She painted because it didn't feel right NOT to. She painted in order to feel complete. Sure she went on to study painting but she was creating significant pieces even before she stepped into a classroom

I am often times challenged by academia, saying that a true artist is one who earned their career by going to school for it. Although I don't knock people who went to higher-than-higher education for art, i also feel that it can be a pretentious, conceited way of thinking. Not everybody has the luxury of time and money to go back to school, but if an artist is talented regardless of the education, how can you say that they are not an artist?

SO happy birthday to a one of the most prolific female artists of the millenium.

Frida Kahlo and the birdies.. love love love.

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and i also have to say happy birthday to the Dalai Lama who tunes 75 today!

Photo by: Associated Press