Meet the Winner: Michelle Whitaker

Our 2014 Mini-Masterpiece winner may have gotten off to a slow start in this industry, but we predict great things for her. “I have been a licensed nail tech for 11 years, however I didn’t start doing nails until last year,” says Michelle Whitaker. It took her about two-and-a-half hours to complete the winning tip. “I’d work on it between appointments. The hardest parts were the people and the benches,” she says.

“I chose this painting because of the brushstroke look of it and all the vivid colors throughout. It was just so pretty.” Whitaker used acrylic paint for the artwork. “When I finished, I topped it with a matte polish to make it look like a painting.”

Despite the fact that she’s had no formal art training, she does a lot of nail art in the salon. “I have watched a ton of Robin Moses videos and she pretty much taught me how to paint. (Thanks Robin!) I mostly do Pinterest-inspired art in Artistic Colour Gloss. Occasionally a client will let me do whatever I want and that’s always fun.”

“I’d like to thank Sarah Petersen [a colleague at Salon Legacy] and Artistic Nail Design for the never-ending inspiration to grow and become great.”