Artist Influences: Frida Kahlo

Introduction When I scroll through the BP feed, I see so many beautiful pieces—and I often notice a line like "inspired by Art Nouveau." Since I started making images with AI, the number of artists I love has been steadily growing. This time, I want to write about one of them: Frida Kahlo . Rather than starting with history or a biography, I want to begin with the motifs that keep showing up when people reference Frida: 1) floral crowns, 2) plants, and 3) animals. I’ve also found that composition and a folk-art feel matter a lot, so I’ll take a quick look at each—one by one. Floral Crowns My first encounter with Frida Kahlo was probably a floral-crown portrait—so this motif feels like the natural starting point. I normally work with Imagine Art, but when I want a more painterly finish, I’ve found Lucid and SeeDream to be more reliable. Plants Plants do more than decorate the portrait—they build a world around it. Leaves and branches can work like a frame, turning the background into a quiet stage for symbolism. For the next images, I want to push the plants further: not just “more greenery,” but a deliberate botanical pattern with intentional negative space. Animals In Frida Kahlo’s paintings, animals are not just background motifs—they frequently sit close to the self-portrait as symbolic companions. Monkeys, birds, deer, and other creatures are often read as extensions of tenderness, protection, or vulnerability, depending on the piece. For this image, I kept the folk-icon feel and let the cat and monkey play that symbolic role. Composition & Folk Art Kahlo’s portraits often feel “iconic” because they’re built with a steady, frontal figure and a centered, almost symmetrical calm. The background flattens into patterns—plants, textiles, and simple motifs—so the image reads less like a scene and more like a statement. Conclusion I decided to write this article after creating this image almost by accident. Putting your favorite artists into words can reveal new details about what draws you in—and why.