Marge studied to be a painter. When she was a teenager she had a huge crush on Ringo Starr and painted a large number of portraits of him. She also wrote to him, but only received a reply 25 years later. His response inspired her to enter an art contest. Her portrait of a drunk Homer sleeping on the couch won the competition. She was then hired by Mr. Burns to do a portrait of him. The resulting portrait won even Mr. Burns’ praise, a massive feat in itself.