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Against a sky blue backdrop, Laysa Cazares painted a series of California poppies. With a tiny brush, she used shades of orange to create petals just a few millimeters wide that looked like they were fluttering in a breeze.

A lifelong artist, Cazares’ favorite medium may seem unusual: fingernails.

“It’s a little canvas where you can put whatever you want, and it’s wearable art, which I think is really cool,” the 29-year-old said.

Cazares, raised in Manteca and now based in San Francisco, is among a growing number of high-end nail artists elevating traditional manicures into works of art amid the booming multibillion-dollar beauty industry. She has built a following fo

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