Congratulations to this year’s Mini Masterpiece winner Stella Sampson, who skillfully captured the fine details and striking colors of “Audubon” by Marjorie Sarnat, a painting sure to win over any cat lover (and the judges). This year’s contest received dozens of amazing entries featuring art from Dali to Banksy.  

Meet the Winner

Nail artist and chemical engineer Stella Sampson looks for a challenge when it comes to nail art. “I am the type of person who loves to take note of all the tiny details,” she says. “I’ve always liked complex designs and in the beginning I would find it very hard to achieve the desired result.” That’s why she chose “Audubon” by Marjorie Sarnat, part of the artist’s “Kleo Kats” series, for her winning Mini Masterpiece. “I love this decorative style in a painting,” she says. “This cat combines a Klimt-inspired style in a more contemporary depiction with a plethora of patterns, textures, and colors.”

To create the tiny details, she started with a white acrylic paint base and sketched the design in pencil before adding the colors and details. She chose a matte top coat to make the nail look more like a real painting. To paint such small designs, “it was vital I found the ideal brush for what I wanted to paint, she explains. “I realized that it didn’t need to be extremely thin as long as it was firm.” She also dilutes acrylic paints with a little bit of water to make it easier to create very fine lines.

Sampson has great advice for anyone thinking of entering Mini Masterpiece in the future: “If you never try it, you’ll never know if you are good at it. If you try and fail, you can get some extra lessons and try again. The most important thing is never ever giving up!”