How One Nail Artist Is Turning Fine Art Into Nail Art | Essence (2024)

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Tyler Macias has been artistic for as long as she can remember—experimenting with any medium she could get her hands on. Navigating her way through ceramics, charcoal painting, portraiture, and several musical instruments, she found her way to nail art.

“I had a lot of musical influences,” the Moreno Valley-born artist says. “I went to a lot of backyard shows, my peers played instruments, I was a theater kid—that was my influence,” Macias—who now counts the likes of SZA, Rico Nasty, and FKA Twigs as clients today—says. “Everybody there was so indie and into Arctic Monkeys and Mac Demarco, so that was my foundation.”

Outside of piano lessons from a neighbor and a beginner’s art class at her local community college, the renaissance woman and nail artist is primarily self-taught. She attributes much of her innate abilities to her artist father. Drawn to eye-catching patterns, textures, sculptures, and hyperrealistic portraits, Macias translates her fascination for multidimensional art into her practice—which can be found in her newly-opened independent studio, located off of Sunset Blvd.

“I wanted to take what I like, and I wanted to see it on my hands,” she states. Watching Toro y Moi and “trippy, psychedelic, indie-type” music videos during the pandemic greatly contributed to her design style as she was starting out. Additionally, Pinterest is a great inspiration for her as well. “I like to look at little figurines like Precious Moments. I take a lot of inspiration from the outdoors as well. I did some fish nails not too long ago.”

In terms of her work, Macias is steadfast in the belief that nail art is and should be considered a legitimate form of art. “It’s so high fashion now. You can do anything, especially with the new technology. With the different types of clay and gel being developed, you can get super sculptural with nails. I’ve worked with nail artists who use actual clay to make extensions and crazy, funky charms. It’s just gone to a whole other level. It’s not like what it used to be at all,” she explains.

Using the clever play on words, “@puttheminacoffin,” Macias takes to Instagram to display most of her experimentations, highlighting many other independent artists in the process. Whether it’s fashioning pet portraits, recreating art from surrealist painter Octavio Ocampo or fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, or a plethora of three-dimensional objects from food to clowns, and beyond, there is no limit to the art Macias can create on a pair of hands.

To Macias and many other nail enthusiasts, the skill and art is apparent. “It takes just as much time, thought, and creativity as working with any other medium. We’re using paint, acrylic, sculptural items, and we’re doing it on people — tiny canvases —, which is so crazy,” she attests.

Translating her artistic practices into beauty services provided expansive creative opportunities, but it did not come without complications. “I feel like my career has moved so fast but at the same time,” she explains of her business that took off in 2020. “We’re all struggling because of the economy and service providers feel it heavily right now.”

On the brighter side, she affirms how positive the creative digital space can be, and how it cultivates niche pockets of art. “I just started doing this for fun. I didn’t really think that it would go in the direction that it has,” she explains. “I’ll go 80 miles away, and when they ask for my Instagram, they find that they’re already following me. I’m like, ‘That’s crazy. I’m just a girl from the I.E., how do you know of me?’ It trips me out every single time.”

These days, she’s dreaming big—hoping to work with stars and boundary pushers like Chappel Roan, Thundercat, and Tyler, The Creator. Additionally, she has hopes of opening her own studio and embracing new design challenges.

“In my heart, I feel like my career is barely taking off, and it has the potential to be something big,” she says. But no matter what new heights she reaches, she stays grounded thanks to her community and clients. “I get the most satisfaction out of having my regular clientele. They bring me the coolest inspo for nail designs. We have the most fun, and the most gossip to talk about.”