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Great nephew of Frida Kahlo's best friend commemorates her 110th birthday through paintings

Thursday would have been Frida Kahlo's 110th birthday.

Thursday would have been Frida Kahlo's 110th birthday.

Known as one of Mexico's greatest artist of all time, Frida has inspired millions of women and men with her approach to art.

Frida was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyocoan, Mexico City, Mexico.

She was a Mexican self-portrait artist who was inspired by Mexican popular culture.

Frida's paintings are known for her very strong elements which explored passion, pain and boldness.

Frida painted over 200 paintings, more than 50 of which are self-portraits.

During her life, she encountered many traumatic events, including her relationship with her beloved Diego RIvera.

She and Rivera, a fellow painter, were married. Their relationship was tenuous and throughout time, both had multiple affairs.

Her physical beauty and dominance has captured millions to date.

On Thursday, the Luna Culture Lab in Phoenix will celebrate her with its second annual Frida Birthday Bash.

Many women and men will join together to celebrate the woman who has been an inspiration to generations.

Arizona native Jim Covarrubias, a well-known artist within the community, will be at the bash to talk about his artwork.

Covarrubias' great aunt, Rosa Covarrubias, was best friends with Frida Kahlo.

"They first met in New York City and later on they traveled to Paris and to San Francisco and of course, they both ended up in Mexico," he said.

Jim said that his great aunt served as comfort and support to Frida, and they would throw dinner parties together.

Diego and Jim's great uncle Miguel Covarrubias were also great friends.

Jim has a great appreciation for Mexican culture. In fact, he was the first one to put a Chicano art gallery in Phoenix.

Jim has depicted Frida in more than 100 of his numerous paintings.

"I love doing portraits. When I do paintings from photographs, it gives you great freedom because a lot of them are black and white, so you can use the impressionism to kind of have some fun with the background and colors and I love that," he said.

Jim said he has an immense appreciation for Frida and is grateful his great aunt was able to be part of Frida's life.

"She's a great artist. Looking at her paintings and her drawings are amazing," said Jim. "The other thing is the way she lived her life -- she persevered. She had a lot of trauma in her life and she never left the beauty of life, the love of life."

Frida's messages are universal. She impacted the world in her time and she still does today. There's no one else like her.

Happy birthday, Frida Kahlo.

To get more information about Frida's Birthday Bash at Luna Culture Lab, click here.

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