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 work just for the fun of it. 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."
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.
Keith and his wife Tomi purchased a small acreage where he built a larger studio to better accomodate his clients needs and broaden the scope of the work he will be able to produce. Married in August 2005, Nelson's productivity has significantly increased now that his wife, an accountant, helps take care of some of the office work 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.
On January 21st 2009 they had a baby boy named Lucas Alan, who previous to being born already had the fanciest room in the house and also requiried mom to get rid of her sporty little car for a minivan. Keith says "It is unbelieveable how demanding small people can be, even before they start to pull their weight around the house." Keith loves being a dad and is excited about this new chapter in his life.
Some of his time that previously has gone into different art projects has for the last year and a half or so gone into the development of his new company Kazzoinks. Keith has designed and patented chairs for children in the shape of letters. Customers can order the letters they want in any of the colors that are currently available at kazzoinks.com. This is by far the most ambitious project Keith has ever taken on. Creating a company from scratch based on an idea no one has ever seen or even heard of takes some creativity and persistance. Luckily Keith has nearly twenty years persistantly being creative trying to make a living as an artist In Iowa. This makes the daily challenges of the new company seem less daunting.
Keith Nelson
Artworks
Cv/bio
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 work just for the fun of it. 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."
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.
Keith and his wife Tomi purchased a small acreage where he built a larger studio to better accomodate his clients needs and broaden the scope of the work he will be able to produce. Married in August 2005, Nelson's productivity has significantly increased now that his wife, an accountant, helps take care of some of the office work 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.
On January 21st 2009 they had a baby boy named Lucas Alan, who previous to being born already had the fanciest room in the house and also requiried mom to get rid of her sporty little car for a minivan. Keith says "It is unbelieveable how demanding small people can be, even before they start to pull their weight around the house." Keith loves being a dad and is excited about this new chapter in his life.
Some of his time that previously has gone into different art projects has for the last year and a half or so gone into the development of his new company Kazzoinks. Keith has designed and patented chairs for children in the shape of letters. Customers can order the letters they want in any of the colors that are currently available at kazzoinks.com. This is by far the most ambitious project Keith has ever taken on. Creating a company from scratch based on an idea no one has ever seen or even heard of takes some creativity and persistance. Luckily Keith has nearly twenty years persistantly being creative trying to make a living as an artist In Iowa. This makes the daily challenges of the new company seem less daunting.
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