Monday, January 23, 2012

Troy Polamalu

Today's manicure is for the daughter of a friend. Dyan suffered a tragic accident last year and is slowly recovering from it. To help her feel better, many of my nail polish buddies are putting together manicures that we think would cheer her up and help her stay positive on her road to recovery. I know that she really likes the Steelers, and in particular, LOVES Troy Polamalu. So here he is in all his glory for you Dyan!

No portrait of Troy would be complete without his flowing locks, and they cannot be contained on just one nail, oh no! This was so much fun to paint. I really like how it turned out, even if I am not personally a Steelers fan. 

I started with a base of China Glaze Happy-Go-Lucky for a nice Steelers yellow. This is a good shade and this was just two coats of polish, which is nearly unheard of for yellow nail polish.

Here is the first pic I took of the mani underway. I got so into it that I forgot to take any pics before this point. All of the art work on top of the yellow polish was done with acrylic paint. You can find out more about my technique by reading my FAQ page

Here is the manicure nearly finished, before topcoat.

It is always tough to look at pictures of a manicure after I have finished and have a few days perspective on the design, because I always find flaws. Like the highlights I tried to add to his hair ended up looking like his hair is grey. And I made his eyes too far apart, but these are nitpick things that really only matter to me. I still love this mani, and I really hope that it brings a smile to Dyan. :-)

29 comments:

  1. AWESOME JOB!!!! I love his hair the best!!!

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    1. Thank you Laurie! The hair flowing onto nearby nails totally cracks me up. :)

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  2. You are right, these nitpicks only matter to you :) You should be proud of this great nail art :)

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    1. Thank you Maria! I am really proud of it, but I know I can always do better! It's the journey not the destination, right? :)

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  3. OMG! I LOVE this! You are so truly talented in your nail art, I hope to get to your level one day. :) Great blog!!

    Melinda

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  4. I literally just exclaimed, "Holy crap" loud enough to concern my fiancee upon seeing these.

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    1. thanks nev! Heh heh, this one took longer than usual, about 3+ hours to do. But I really like it! I hope your fiancee recovers. :)

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  5. love it! now can you come paint this on my nails? ;)

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    1. Ha ha! That depends, where do you live and will you pay for my flight to come paint your nails?

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  6. This is so well done!! I love the hair! XD
    I really hope that Dyan feels better and gets well very soon! I'm sorry to hear about the accident. :(

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    1. Thanks Ashelsela! Dyan needs lots of encouragement now, I am sure she appreciates your kind words!!

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  7. So nice of you! I hope Dyan feels better :)

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    1. Thanks starification! I hope Dyan feels better, too. :)

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  8. ¡Espectacular! Muy original y trabajada.

    Me encanta.

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  9. OH GOD. I am an enormous Steelers fan (as well as a nail art person) and these are INCREDIBLE. He looks so great! These look like a Head and Shoulders ad hahah!

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    1. Thanks Candice! I think I may have used one of his Head and Shoulders ads as the model for this nail art, ha ha!

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  10. I sent the link to this page to Troy! I thought he would like to see it! Great job!

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  11. You do such a great job on portraits! This looks amazing, as well as the mug replica and Sumbody covergirl in more recent entries.

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