Press Sample of the BravesDiva Polish
The Artist Collection

I have a new to me brand on the blog today! We’re going to be looking at BravesDiva Polish The Artist Collection!

This is a touching collection and it’s dedicated to the BravesDiva’s grandmother (MeMe). Here’s the backstory on this collection and why it’s so touching:

I was raised by my grandparents. And my grandmother, Lois Hulse (MeMe, as she was known to her grans), was the most influential person in my life. She was an award-winning — and self-taught! — artist who specialized in Native American and Southwest art. She owned her own studio in Fort Smith, Arkansas, mastered pastel/charcoal/water color/oil paint mediums, and taught classes for over 40 years. She touched the lives of thousands of students, many of whom painted with her every week for 35 years. MeMe was a trailblazer and an inspiration, and I dedicate this collection to her & her life’s work.

Native American tribal leaders in the area were very familiar with her work & they would invite her to their pow wows to take photos of their costumes, their dance, and their rituals for inspiration. I attended many pow wows with her & I remember being so enamored of the beautiful people, the bright colors, happy children & the LOUD drums. I was in awe at every gathering.

When she passed away in 2012, the family was tasked with moving items out of her studio. She had hundreds of paintings/half-completed canvases, thousands of brushes & books, dozens of palettes, pottery items, you name it. Those walls held 40 years of memories. I chose to take a few of her paintings that were noteworthy to me, and they now reside in my home in Michigan. These were pieces that I watched her paint as I was growing up, and during different periods of my life, so they’ve always held a special place in my heart.

I was rather touched that she reached out to me to review a collection that was so near and dear to her heart. There are several incredible bloggers and swatchers who worked on this collection, so be sure to also join the BravesDiva Polish Fan Page on Facebook to see more. 

For each polish I will have the description like normal, then a snippet from Tara for the inspiration behind the polish creation and name.

BravesDiva Polish | Combing Tangles

Combing Tangles is a sheer green tinted jelly base with gold shimmer, blue microflakes, teal green holographic micro glitters and gold holo microglitters. I used 3 thin coats and a glossy top coat for these photos.

We’ll start with Combing Tangles, which as you can see by the photo was finished & signed in 1983. (I was seven years old at the time, but that’ll just be our little secret! lol) The paint has started to crack in some areas, but that just adds to the beauty, IMO. I wanted the polish to really pull the gorgeous greens & warm golds, with flashes of blue from the blankets.

BravesDiva Polish | Aryn’s Tears

Aryn’s Tears is a blurple base (leans a touch more blue) with blue shimmer, a touch of gold shimmer and pink holographic microglitter. I used 2 coats and a glossy top coat for these photos.

Due to the high shimmer content – there are very minor brushstrokes visible.

The painting Aryn’s Tears was inspired by a little girl at a pow wow in Oklahoma. She was tired & weepy, and MeMe just so happened to capture the photo as she was wiping away a tear. I absolutely love this painting. And I can tell you, from someone who has seen the original photo of little Aryn, it looks just like her!

BravesDiva Polish | Watchful Spirits

Watchful Spirits is a medium grey creme base with medium blue shimmer. The shimmer is much more obvious in person, but my camera didn’t want to fully pick it up. I used 2 coats and a glossy top coat for these photos.

Watchful Spirits was one of MeMe’s favorites. This piece won many awards at the Trail of Tears art show. The powerful message is very understated, and I wanted to translate that into this polish.

 BravesDiva Polish | Desert Friends

Desert Friends is described as an orange jelly base, but it comes across to me as more of a blood orange shade or even a deep reddish corally shade. It’s definitely an interesting base color that I don’t see that often. It also has aqua microglitters sparsely mixed in and violet to red to copper to gold ultrachrome chameleon flakes.

Desert Friends is one of MeMe’s most “recent” works, completed in 2007. This was when she really started havin fun with bold color. The gold, orange, purple & turquoise color palette is a stand-out.

The final two paintings in this collection are ALL about color! Neither piece was signed (and she signed EVERYthing) so she was experimenting with abstract color & texture in these two. I drew inspiration of color & complex detail construction from these pieces

BravesDiva Polish | Roper

Roper is a medium red jelly base with blue sparks and sapphire blue microglitters. I used 3 thin coats and a glossy top coat for these photos.

BravesDiva | The Cowboy

The Cowboy is a shimmery golden yellow base with bright blue and bronze microflakes. I used 2 coats and a glossy top coat for these photos.

This shade had brush strokes visible, but I find it fairly common with polishes that have shimmery bases like this.

BravesDiva Polish The Artist Collection

This is an incredibly special collection, and I appreciate the opportunity to review it for BravesDiva Polish. I had no application issues to mention, the only notes I had for any of the formulas was that 2 had minor brushstrokes visible, but both are shimmery, so it’s fairly common.

I really loved the inspiration behind each polish – and seeing the artwork really brings the polishes to life even more.

As I mentioned before – to see more swatches you can join the BravesDiva Polish Facebook Fan Group (there’s going to be a giveaway soon!)

Price: $10.50  Each | $60.00 Full Collection (First 3 customers to order full set will get free shipping with a code)

Where To Buy: BravesDiva Polish Shop

Preorder Dates: September 28th – October 14th

BravesDiva Polish Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Facebook Fan Group

Hope everyone enjoyed this collection and the inspiration behind it. Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday!