Can You Use Acrylic Paint to Do Nail Art?

Can you use acrylic paint to do nail art? Is it amateurish to want to do so, when there’s a product called lacquer that comes in many beautiful colors? Yes to first question, no to second. It might surprise you but this very paint is actually quite commonly used among nail artists!

Although I cannot boast of having had that many professional manicures, I can remember a time when I used to paint my nails religiously. Loved all those vibrant reds, crimsons and magenta pinks. Even tried some purples, blues and green (horrors) when the trend was going on. Later on I would try to use nail lacquer in a mixed media painting to see what would happen. (It went surprisingly well. Ok if you want to try it.)

But then as time went by I cared less and less. I even ended up discarding what was left of my old nail polish collection. But here i am with the itch to try to dress up my nails…this time with art paint!

If you are going to use acrylic art paint on your fingernails, you have my blessing. Just that there are a few things to keep in mind first – of which is, be sure to clean your nails beds well with a little acetone/rubbing alcohol, and then apply a base coat first. This will prevent the paint you use from staining your nails.

Now we let that dry and it’s on to the actual paint I’m going to use. Wow, this takes me back…I found myself thinking of a time when I was taking a course that included work in acrylic nails…which is a whole different niche…but I remember having a hand and finger form that I would use to build up the ball of acrylic with my brush. Good times.

Anyway, I’m using a more student grade paint to see how this goes…and a little water. I will also use my Filbert brush…it has rounded contours that are pretty close to the shape of a nail bed .  I’m going to start with the first nail.

Not too shabby…I haven’t done this in awhile, but anyway, it’s all a matter of 2-3 quick, long strokes.  I have never thought I would ever be good as a hand model. I don’t have the “right” shape of nails like the classic feminine oval or almond. That could be why I always shyed away form getting manicures and other accessories done. Now I will finish painting the nails on that hand. and let it dry. 

Not too bad, although it did run into the corners a little? No worries, I can clean that up later with a little acetone and a q-tip. I will then repeat with the other hand.

Here’s some pictures of the next hand,. Also, using a small desktop fan to let the paint dry is a good idea. Also, that’s our new cat too.

You could also use little details too on your nails, to make good careful designs you may want to consider a paint marker that comes in a fine/medium tip. If you will need to use one of your detail brushes if you have them. I’m just phoning it in here with little dots to give you an idea.

Tips:

• Make quick, long strokes with the brush
• Resist the urge to go over the nail with more paint – it can lead to a flawed coat
• Let dry using something like a desk fan

Well, there you have it, why not go through your paint stash tonight and give this a try? I think you will have a lot of fun!