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Artist Keith Nelson has been proving that making a nice living as an artist is possible from anywhere you call home. Living near Des Moines Iowa, Nelson has been creating art for clients locally as well as many others all over the world. While most of his work is commissioned, he does create a large amount of work just for pure enjoyment. Much of that is featured on the website. As his interests are very diverse, so is his subject matter and techniques which he uses. He prefers not to limit himself to one style or one media. Instead he is always trying to do something new to keep his interest in what he is doing fresh and to constantly strive to learn. Not your typical artist, Nelson has a hard time calling himself an "Artist". Instead he mostly identifies himself as an Entrepreneur, whose business is art. "Most artists paint, sculpt, or whatever they do, to make "art". I paint, draw, sculpt, etc. to make money." Some in the art community may consider this "selling out", he considers it having a successful career. "If I was constantly doing things I didn't want to do just to make money, that would be different. Since I only do the projects I want to do, and only work with the people I want to work with, I am being true to myself and to the work that God has blessed me to be able to do."
Having grown up in the small North Iowa town of Britt, Nelson came from a great family and credits his parents with instilling in him a strong faith and a strong work ethic. This has provided a good foundation from which to not only build a good career, but a great life. While at Iowa State University in Ames, Nelson realized that to actually make a living as an artist was not going to be easy, and that if he was going to have any success it was going to take some time and hard work. To set himself apart from other students, Nelson began to incorporate the use of an airbrush into many of his pieces when possible. A challenging medium, Keith has become very proficient with its use since that time, and it as well as his other abilities has lead to opportunities to do work for some very influencial people both here and abroad. His classic Hollywood portrait work has drawn great praise and has recently opened the door to doing some work for clients in the TV and Movie industry.
It is often said "It is not what you know, but who you know." Realizing the truth to this statement, Nelson has been proactive in putting himself in positions to meet people who can have a positive influence on not only his career, but his life. Keith firmly believes, "If you want to be rich and successful, surround yourself with people who are rich and successfull and learn as much as you can, but don't let it go to your head. So many people today think that if they just had more money they would be happy." Keith thinks this kind of thinking is a load of bull. "If you can't be happy with little you won't be happy with much."
Keith and his wife Tomi recently purchased a small acreage where he built a new larger studio to better accomodate his clients needs and broaden the scope of the work he will be able to produce. Married for nearly two and a half years Nelson's productivity has significantly increased now that his wife, an accountant, helps take care of some of the mondain tasks of his business. However, her assistance does not stop there. While away on mural projects Keith sometimes recruits her assistance in the early stages of painting a mural. His mural work has lead to great opportunities to travel. Keith and Tomi spend extensive time in Hawaii and Arizona working for clients. They have also been given opporutinities to visit Ireland and soon Australia.
Nelson says "For most of my life people have been telling me someday I would be a rich and famous artist. By the worlds standards I am not quite there yet, but by my standards I may not be famous, but I am richer in many ways than most artists ever dream to be simply by the grace of God."
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