For some of us, fingernail art is a foreign concept. We’re happy when we don’t have jagged nails with tiny bits of dirt underneath them.
But Jimmy Nguyen of Stash House in Phoenix is doing intricate art on that tiny canvas.
He isn’t just using dramatic colors. He’s taking traditional wall art and reducing it to fingernail size.
We learned more from Nguyen, who is one of Phoenix New Times' 100 Creatives.
Interview highlights:
Where does the creative process begin?
"I usually ask clientele to come in with an idea. I can put anything on a nail. It's hard for me to freestyle. I don't have a specific style. I can do so many. Say they bring in a picture, I study it and see if I can downsize the scale of it and put it on a nail."
And how did you get your start?
"I always paint and draw when I was younger. But after high school, I was actually mason before I did nails. So the economy fell and my aunt contacted me to see if I wanted to help her out and she'd help me out, get my license."
On his inspiration:
"A lot of my friends are local artists...I like taking other people's artwork and putting it on a small canvas. I would meet up with them and they're like "oh my gosh, you're amazing, man' and I'm like 'no, I'm honored to be doing your piece of artwork.'"
