You might say he was born into an art studio. Both Nelson’s father and mother are professional
artists. Having a natural talent for drawing, since day one, he was attracted to learning more. In
middle school he started gaining attention for his three dimensional work and won awards from
the local school district’s art competition. In high school Nelson’s acrylic painting won first prize
for 11th grade category and The Best of Show in 2012. Nelson also submitted and was accepted
into the National Scholastics Art and Writing Competition, 2013. From these judged pieces, the
curators from the Denver Art Museum chose a few select pieces to display in an exclusive show
in the Denver Art Museum where Nelson’s pen and ink, “Colorado River Toad” was prominently
displayed as the first piece of artwork as you entered the gallery. His original artwork was a bit
unusual because it took up the entire wall. After high school he attended Columbus College of
Art and Design for two years, studying illustration. Nelson attended the 2017 Illustration
Academy, in Kansas City, MO. A five week intensive hands-on course taught by many of the
countries premier illustrators. Hear Nelson tackled projects and techniques that expanded his
skills and approach to creating art. He was challenged and ended the course with renewed
enthusiasm for refining and expanding his own techniques.
