It is said that portraits of people become one of the greatest influences in tattooing. Portraits of people you love and admire and famous personalities are perpetually popular but in recent years there has been a domination of a single woman in the tattoo world – Frida Kahlo.

The Mexican icon, Frida Kahlo, who has her birthday on July 6 was not just one, but many things: a great artist, a feminist, a lover, and a strong survivor of a personal tragedy. Through her career in painting and art, she showed the world that life and death can exist in more than one form. Many have tried to immortalize her teachings through her art in many ways.

This praise-worthy Mexican painter is renowned for her self-portraits and is considered as one of the most exquisite artists of the 20th century. Kahlo also maintains a rigid status symbol of feminism and female power, and symbolic attribute has seen Kahlo grow into a very iconic tattoo inspiration for many.

There is no denial in the fact that Frida Kahlo is one of the most sought after and revolutionary female artists in the world. After decades of her death, her art is used to explore and answer questions on societal roles like gender issues, feminism, class, and self-identity. Her legacy has been brought into this decade, thanks to her dedicated followers, who have quite literally imprinted her work, whether it is her art, words, or her portrait, on their skins. They say that one of the best forms of flattery is imitation. If so, Frida Kahlo would have felt immensely proud by people who get her inked on their skins.

For some it is the Frida Kahlo merchandise, for others, it is telling her stories and inspiring others so that she lives on. But for the die-hard fans, and the rebels (especially in Mexican cultures) it is her legacy that has to be promoted. Even if it means wearing it quite literally on their sleeves; or skin. It is quite true nonetheless. The skin is the ultimate canvas, after all. Life is too short not to immortalize your favorite painter this way.