Art with Jark

Scratch Stars Hall Of Fame pro & founder of Jark Nails, JIAK HING, shares a masterclass in gel polish design to elevate your artistic offerings

ABOUT JIAK HING

Jiak Hing is a bespoke nail artist from Bolton, Manchester. She specialises in unique, illustrative nail art under the business name, Jark Nails, and has scooped multiple industry awards, including the Scratch Stars Gel Polish Stylist of the Year accolade in 2022, 2023 and 2024. These three wins granted her entry into the Scratch Stars Hall Of Fame for the category. Jiak is committed to producing innovative and intricate nail art, and credits gel polish for offering creative freedom. The versatility of the medium allows her to experiment with a spectrum of colours and bring her artistic visions to life. She hopes to inspire nail professionals to step out of their comfort zones, embrace creativity and try new skills and techniques.

OUT & ABOUT

I headed to Leeds for the Artistic Colour Experience event, hosted by the brand’s UK&I distributor, Sweet Squared. The insightful day allowed me to connect with fellow nail techs and Scratch’s deputy editor, Rebecca Hitchon, plus see Artistic Nail Design’s summer 2025 nail colour collection, Electric Nebula, up close. I particularly enjoyed a sip and paint session, which saw attendees switch from painting on nails to art canvases. It was an amazing day!

A group pic with fellow pros.

With Scratch’s Rebecca Hitchon.

WATERCOLOUR NAIL ART: Summer fruit design

The strawberry is an iconic summer fruit, and often makes an appearance in seasonal nail art designs. For this style, I used the aquarelle (watercolour) technique over a milky base shade, and 3D gel to create the illusion of water droplets for a fresh, juicy look. Have fun painting and creating!

You will need:

• Milky white builder gel or gel polish.

• Green and red aquarelle or watercolour paints.

• Yellow, white, dark pink and light pink art gels.

• Clear 3D gel.

• Gloss and matte top coats.

Step 1 Prep the nails and apply a milky white builder gel or gel polish shade. Cure, then apply matte top coat and cure again. A matte surface provides a great base for aquarelle/watercolour painting.

Step 2 Paint the leaves and stalks of the strawberries using a green watercolour paint.

Step 3 Use a red watercolour paint to create the strawberries.

Step 4 Paint seeds onto the strawberries using a dark pink art gel. Cure.

Step 5 Dot a light pink art gel over the seeds to create highlights and cure.

Step 6 Apply dots of yellow art gel to create the centre of the flowers. Cure.

Step 7 Use white art gel to paint the petals around each yellow centre and cure.

Step 8 Apply a glossy top coat and cap the free edge to prevent chipping. Cure.

Step 9 Remove the inhibition layer if required, and use 3D gel to create water droplets. Cure.

TOP TREND

3D elements are one of this year’s must-learn techniques. From flowers to shells, incorporating 3D elements into nail art adds realistic textures and makes designs stand out. I used 3D gel to replicate water droplets.

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