View the Current Gallery
View the Art Gallery Archives |
"Art Gallery" showcases the nail art of some of the best artists in the industry. Every month, the column features four to six nail art designs created by one or more of our readers with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions. The nail art usually follows a theme for an upcoming holiday or season and depicts that theme in creative, easy-to-replicate designs. The column also provides promotional tips to help readers make the most of their nail art businesses.
Nailpro is actively seeking nail art submissions, so send in your best examples today. If your art is chosen, we'll pay you $25 per nail and you'll be featured in an upcoming issue. Package nails securely, using bubble wrap, a padded box or cotton, and send by snail mail to: Nailpro, 7628 Densmore Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91406, Attn.: "Art Gallery." Don't forget to include your name, address and phone number! |
| |
|
We’ve conjured up Halloween-themed nail designs so cute they’re spooky.
By Pam Minch
|
 Pour a cup of hot apple cider and get ready to summon some spooky nail art that your clients will be eerily eager to wear. In this month’s “Art Gallery,” we feature a witch’s cauldron full of cute and creepy ideas created by two talented readers. Karen Meyer of Wingate, North Carolina, has created a haunted cemetery nail design that will keep your clients looking over their shoulders for more nail art! She also plays peekaboo with a friendly ghost who will have clients squealing beneath the full moon. But Meyer has more than tombstones and specters brewing in her Halloween nail art pot—she also designed a witch who puts a spell on all who see her! Yet Halloween wouldn’t be complete without a jack-o’-lantern, and Izabella Kurdian of Orange Park, Florida, accents hers with real cutouts.
No matter what trick you choose to treat your clients to, these nail designs will have them screaming for more!
|
|
Green Around the Gills
Karen Meyer
|
 Step 1. Polish the nail with a neutral color.
|
 Step 2. Paint the shape of a witch’s face in green.
|
 Step 3. Using black paint, add a hat and hair.
|
 Step 4. Using thinned black paint, draw a nose, a mouth, eyes and a wart. Use white to add dimension to eyes and two small teeth. Outline the eyes and teeth with black paint.
|
 Step 5. Create a hat ribbon and buckle with white paint and let dry. Add yellow to the teeth and buckle. Outline the teeth and buckle with black paint. Finish with top coat.
|
Average Time: 10 minutes per nail.
Suggested Price: $5 to $7 per nail. |
|
Peekaboo!
Karen Meyer
|
 Step 1. Polish the entire nail black.
|
 Step 2. Paint the shape of a ghost in white.
|
 Step 3. Using dark gray, paint window panes. Accent them with gold paint.
|
 Step 4. Draw a light gray spider web with a spider dangling from it.
|
 Step 5. Use black paint to add eyes, eyebrows and a mouth to the ghost. Finish with top coat.
|
Average Time: 7 to 10 minutes per nail.
Suggested Price: $5 to $7 per nail. |
|
|
Perfect Pumpkin
Izabella Kurdian
|
 Step 1. Polish the nail with a neutral color.
|
 Step 2. Outline a pumpkin shape near the tip |
 Step 3. Estimate where the eyes and mouth will go and drill the shapes out of the nail. Paint the entire pumpkin orange, making sure to cover the inside edges of the cutouts. Add a green stem. |
 Step 4. Add black accent lines. Outline the eyes and mouth with black paint. Finish with top coat. |
Average Time: 10 to 15 minutes
Suggested Price: $7 to $10
|
|
Scary Cemetery
Karen Meyer
|
 Step 1. Polish the entire nail pale white. Sponge on a pale blue paint to create the sky area. |
 Step 2. Paint the tip light green to create grass. Add dark green grass accents.
|
 Step 3. Paint a black tree trunk and branches. Add two tiny birds.
|
 Step 4. Using light yellow polish, paint two tombstones and a cross.
|
 Step 5. Accent the tombstones with black paint; add “RIP” to both. Outline the cross with black. Paint tiny green leaves near the tree branches. Finish with top coat.
|
Average Time: 7 to 10 minutes
Suggested Price: $5 to $7
|
|
|
|
To prevent shattering the nail or hurting the client, perform cutout techniques on a tip prior to applying the tip to the nail bed. You can use a nail drill with a tiny pointed drill bit, a manual drill (like the kind you would use to insert a nail charm) or a hole punch (which are available in many shapes). Drill or punch the hole, apply the nail tip and add acrylic over the tip for strength, making sure not to fill the holes you drilled.
Celebrating her 25th year as a nail tech this year, Pam Minch specializes in nail art at Elysium Day Spa in Parker, Colorado. Her art has been featured in Sports Illustrated and several other publications. She has been a top nail art competitor, a competition judge and an educator for a major manufacturer.
|
