Brooklyn-based manicurist and nail artist, Leanne Woodley, knows a thing or two about color. Her razor-sharp focus on design and color has allowed her to work with commercial and editorial clients such as i-D Magazine, L’Officiel USA, and Vogue Taiwan.
Her nail art has also caught the attention of Dazed and Confused Magazine. The British style magazine has recently interviewed Woodley, stating that her nail designs are nothing short of miniature works of art. “I’ve really only just come to terms with the idea that I am an artist,” Woodley admitted in the interview. “Growing up, I would draw a lot but didn’t consider myself an artist. Now that I have come to terms with it, each step of the process feels very emotional.”
“My dad took me to get my first manicure when I was seven years old,” she recalled. “I was really obsessed with nail polish and long nails after that, even though I was a nail biter.” Fast forward to 2013, and she was working as a stylist assistant when she met Bernadette Thompson. “After badgering her on set for hours, I went home to research her,” she says. “It hadn’t dawned on me how much influence she had in the things I loved growing up, not to mention how much money I could actually make doing nails.”
According to Woodley, “Seeing a black woman making her way in two industries, one being predominantly Asian and the other being predominantly white, and dominate blew my mind. It was a wrap after that.” Take a look at some of her mesmerizing nail art in the gallery below:
