This week, my friend's theme is... TURNING JAPANESE. Whilst I was very tempted to depict the fabulous 1980 pop song on my nails, in the end I decided to go instead with that beautiful Japanese image of cherry blossom.
I painted a base of one coat of Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream. Then I sponged on a gradient of Barry M Cyan Blue. It was a bit uneven, but I figured I'd be covering a lot of it with blossom, so I left it.
Then I painted the branches using Zoya Cheryl and a fine dotting tool. I thought the dotting tool would be better than a brush for making the knobbly branches. I also really like how the sparkliness in Cheryl made the branches look as though they were damp with rain or dew.
Then I used a very fine nail art brush and daubed on some random petals using Barry M Bright Pink. At this stage, I thought it looked awful - it was messy and ugly and nothing like blossom, and I almost took it all off.
However, I then daubed some more using Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream (paler pink) and Barry M Shocking Pink (deeper pink) and I think it looks a lot better! I topped everything with Seche Vite to finish off.
I'm so pleased with how these turned out! They're not neat, and they don't really want to be looked at too closely, but I think in a sort of blurry, impressionistic way, they look really pretty! At arm's length, I love the effect! I kind of wish I hadn't covered the branches so much, and left a bit more of them visible, but overall, I think my work friend will approve!
I've also thought recently that I've been getting better at doing my right hand...
Looking at these photos, I realise that this design is reminding me of one of my favourite poems ever, by Ezra Pound:
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
When it comes to American poetry I'm more of a William Carlos Williams or E.E. Cummings afficionado but the nails absolutely rule! Best Friday challenge yet.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so. :-)
I like them both too, especially WCW - his poem about the plums is one of the most beautiful ones I know.
DeleteThis is gorgeous! I love cherry blossom nails! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was the first time I tried them and now I want to do them again and again in different colours!
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