Pin-Up Love...Zahira Kelly

This is something I had to tell somebody about. Even though others have blogged about this many times, it is fairly new to me. If anyone knows me, they should know that I love African American Art, whether it be a framed piece, a statue, or even a stage play. But this...this is something special. With saying that, I must tell you all about Zahira Kelly at http://kellysdolls.com/. This woman is amazing!!! She is a super talented Pin-Up Artist, Illustrator, Photographer, just to name a few. I must say, I have never met her, I just happen to stumble upon her Tumblr page a while back and I have loved her ever since. She captures a woman's beauty with her art in the most sensual, powerful and beautiful way. I love the vintage contemporary look she gives her photos. All of the women look so natural in their beauty and the best thing is, they look like me...meaning they are not your average pin-up girl (none of that slutty, sleazy stuff). They are beautiful Women of Color that don't look like what society & the media say that a young woman should look like. Anyway, before I get all stirred up, let's get to the good stuff! She can provide you with custom pin-up art, illustrations, etc. Just visit her page here. 

Here are just a few of her illustrations (these are my favorites!!)...

Pink Wednesday .. x3

Ok, so I've been hoarding all of my Pink Wednesday manis..so I'm posting the last 2 Wednesdays plus today all in one..

from May 25th...

Do you have so many pink nail polishes that its hard to choose one?? Ya'll, I'm not a 'pink' girl, but until the creation of Pink Wednesdays, I never realized how many shades of this color polish I actually own! This mani was inspired by http://www.youtube.com/user/LOVE4NAILS from back in April. I love leopard print, but only in small amounts, so my mani is a little bit more "tamed" than hers! But I still love it!! What I used:

OPI Nail Envy (Matte) Base Coat (I'm obsessed with this stuff!)

China Glaze Purple Panic Neon (looks pink to me!)

OPI Alpine Snow

Ruby Kisses Silver Bling

Kiss Black nail art brush

SV Top Coat

from June 1st...
This look is so edgy and punk rockish, which is totally not me! But that's why I love it so much. It kinda looks like black belts with grommets like a biker or someone would wear **shrugs shoulders**. This is another youtube inspired mani originally done by Miss80Million. It gave me a chance to use my CG Flip Flop Fantasy, which I had only previously used on my toes. I got so many compliments on this mani; some people thought I had on nail stickers like those Sally Hansen thingys! What I used:

OPI Nail Envy (Matte) Base Coat
China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy
Orly Liquid Vinyl
Ruby Kisses Silver Bling
SV Top Coat

Today June 8th...

Ok I have been looking at Ombre Manis all over the internet and I've been trying to figure out what way to do this that would work well for me. I tried choosing 5 colors from all of my pink polishes, but there wasn't a group of 5 that had enough of a gradient to fit the look I wanted. So I decided to use one pink polish and gradually lighten it with white for each finger. First I painted my pink-y nail with the original color. Then I started mixing this color with white on a plate using a clean brush, increasing the amount of the white polish for each nail. Be careful not to over mix or you'll create bubbles. If the mixed polish on the plate starts to dry, you can add a drop of nail polish thinner to fix it. I really love how this turned out. I will have to try it again real soon. What I used:

OPI Nail Envy (Matte) Base Coat

OPI FlashBulb Fuchsia

Sally Hansen White On

SV Top Coat

Memories of back in the day ..

This work of art brings back so many memories. The Blue Magic grease, the bow bucket with the hair knockers and barrettes .. for oh so many mornings this was me and my daughter's routine for getting her ready for daycare or school. This picture is the epitome of a black woman's hair and it's progression from Madame C.J. Walker to our current days of teenie weenie afros, press outs and relaxers. I wish I could hang it in my daughter's bathroom, but I can't find it on www.heritagesart.com where I usually shop for most of my african american art, and I don't remember the artist's name. C'est la vie .. I love it anyway.