I Can Paint OK Too, I Guess

I have been accused of not having any "talent." These accusations often come from passersby to the website who don't particularly care for my clients' taste in nails...

Not half bad-- given enough time.

 I totally get that my photos are seen by many people from all over the world from many different cultures-- and personal preferences. So it doesn't bother me too much that not everyone likes my work. I get that there are many people out there who feel that "fake nails" are tacky, and that all this rockstar stuff is gaudy. But it's what's popular here and whether or not it reflects my personal preference has little to do with how much fun it is to create the nails, or what my clients want to wear.

I was terrified when she asked for these, I don't love drawing humans.

I often find it odd that so many people fail to take into consideration that I am a professional nail tech, working in a salon, doing nails for a clientelle: the photos you see on display represent the work I do at the request of those clients, not necessarily the designs I would do to show off if I had the time to do nails just for the sake of exhibition.

One client saw the Harry Potter nails and figured I could do anything. 

But back to those accusations of not having talent-- I don't think I'm half bad at what I do. I see a lot of work that I think is far below my level of skillz, but I can also point you in the direction of some mind-blowing talent that I can only dream of being able to emulate half as well as the original. I do know that I have been fortunate enough to earn a living doing what I do for over 20 years now. I'm not sure if that's any indication of "talent," but I'll take what I can get.

I LOVED doing these tiki designs! One of my faves so far.

Right now, in the area where I live and work, Rockstar design continues to be extremely popular. As you can see, I do a lot of glitter and rhinestones in long-- often flared-- "fake" nails. It's what pays the bills, and it's fun to do!

She brought me a print out of some competition art she found online.
This was my version for her 21st birthday trip to Vegas.

I know there are a lot of nail enthusiasts out there who feel that the lack of hand painted design in my current portfolio somehow points to an absence of "talent." So here are some photos of my hand painted work, just for the sake of saving face in the light of these accusations:

From the Ed Hardy craze.

Pretty proud of my Marine Corps emblem from these military themed nails.

Surfer theme nails with matching ring-- I did the ring too, but the ring is 100% acrylic.

School bus themed nails. 

Before the days of my digital camera, I did more cartoon characters and other hand painted scenes and designs... I guess I should scan those.