"The Queen and Her Servant" by Rosie Rose
Acrylic painting on signboard, 4 ft wide x 8 ft tallFrida Kahlo was truly a self-made icon. She painted about two hundred paintings in her lifetime, many of which were self-portraits. Her surrealist and primitive paintings are rich in color and raw in emotion, often focusing on physical pain or heartbreak. Most of her paintings are now in the possession of the world's best museums, and others are owned by the rich and famous. Fifty years after her death, she has become more popular than ever, her paintings selling for millions of dollars. She often said she did not want to be forgotten, but she surely didn't expect to be the most famous female artist in the world.
I painted it in my backyard, and I actually used the elements behind my panel as the background- the stone retaining wall that I could see on either side, and the tree that came over the top. Frida never visited Eureka, as far as I know, but I'm sure she would have loved it here. She wore her Tehuana costumes in the cold climate of Detroit, and I think she would have liked it here better! I wanted her to be proud and beautiful, the way she portrayed herself the most often. I also put her in her favorite green skirt, which appears in many of her paintings, including "Memory". And I gave her a Mona Lisa Smile, instead of her usual somber expression. I wanted her to look healthy and full of life." -Rosie Rose
Above Photos: Working on the painting was a challenge as it was too big to fit in my house. A makeshift mosquito net kept me somewhat sane as I painted the large portrait in my backyard.
