31DC2013 Day 27: Inspired by Art

Today's post is a day late, but for a good reason. This one was really hard! Coming up with an idea wasn't a problem because I already knew what I wanted to do. It was the execution that was so difficult. I had to start over a couple times, and just ran out of time last night. Now that it's finally done, I really don't want to take it off!

A couple of months ago when I did my manicure, My Yacht is Yar, I started thinking of other white manicures I could do. I loved how simple and clean it was. I realized it made a perfect canvas for practically anything. I began to imagine images that would work against a white background. One of the images that came to mind was this Banksy piece, one of his most iconic. Brilliant idea! After googling "Banksy girl with balloon", I quickly found I wasn't the first to have this idea. I've found that is usually the case when I think I've come up with something "original". Not that there's a rule that says it's only cool if you're the first to think of it. It was helpful to see other people's approach, specifically Smashley Sparkles', and see how they chose their placement of the images.

The challenge with photographing my thumb is its curve. I can't capture the entire image in just one photo. So these photos are all the same pose, just with varying angles.

Usually I would finish with a top coat to smooth out the brush strokes. In this case I wanted to keep the texture to make it look more lifelike. I began with two coats of white polish, and one coat of Seche Vite to speed up the drying time. Then I sponged a gray polish on top to give it more texture, like a concrete wall. I started free handing the balloon first. I needed a success under my belt to make me more confident that I could paint the girl! For the girl I alternated between using the white and black Stripe Rite polishes. Back and forth, a million times, until I finally had to force myself to call it finished.

Here is a pin-able combo for you:

What I used:
Sephora by OPI White Hot
OPI French Quarter For Your Thoughts
OPI Red Hot Ayers Rock
It's So Easy Stripe Rite in black
It's So Easy Stripe Rite in white


What do you think? I'm so glad I tried it! I am so proud of it, that I decided it was finally time to watermark my photos!

p.s. If you like this, please take a second to "like" it. Thanks! :)