Magazine for the professional nail industry.
Issue link: http://nailsmag.epubxp.com/i/190368
From the canvas Kimber THOMPSON The Rose Salon Gillette, Wyo. to the fingertips When Kimber Thompson was eight years old, she was enrolled in an adult oil painting class. "My mom said she had never seen a kid as young as me drawing," Thompson says. "I didn't write numbers or letters, I started with pictures from the get-go and I've always had a paintbrush in my hand." In 2000, she graduated from Idaho State University with a bachelor's degree in art, emphasizing in drawing and photography. Her specialty is sketching the human form and her favorite mediums are charcoal and mixedmedia. Her personal art collection is filled with intricately portrayed faces, eyes, and bodies. In order to put herself through school, however, Thompson did nails. What started out as a playful activity among friends became her career. "My best friend and I didn't have any formal training in nails, but we'd put fake tips on each other for fun," says Thompson. "The ones I put on her would stay on, but the ones she put on me wouldn't, so I thought, 'Maybe I have a knack for this.'" When she graduated college, Thompson thought about teaching high school art, but she couldn't get her mind off of nails. "I just love doing nails," says Thompson. "I love the challenges that I fill with different clients and it really is a very rewarding form of art." She enjoys creating nail designs, playing with color, and working with acrylics. "Because I started painting so young, having an acrylic brush in my hand is just natural," she says. "When I was in art school, I learned how to be more open to art. Compositionally, I'm able to see what's around me and translate that to the nails. And I think my relationship with color has helped too. I can blend acrylics to match anything whether it's your prom dress or your Halloween costume. It's super fun to play with." Thompson believes the first step toward creating quality nail art is making sure the initial canvas (a.k.a. the structure of the nail) is good before painting on top of it. "Make the nails perfect and then add the art," says Thompson. "That's what keeps me in business." She also advises learning from as many avenues as possible, whether it's YouTube, magazines, or websites. "Any aspiring nail artist would benefit from an introductory art class," says Thompson. "They'll learn shadowing, perspective, the color wheel — the basics that influence everything." >>> NOVEMBER 2013 | NAILS MAGAZINE | 165