We were lucky to catch up with Raheem Nelson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Raheem thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
I am in a transitional period at the moment. I’m on the cusp of getting a job in the arts at the moment that will support my art career. I’m not a full time creative entrepreneur yet but I’ve achieved a lot in the past year. The biggest commissions I’ve ever received and acclaim in my city of New Haven and being able to see my artwork on a billboard in Times Square.
Raheem, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am an Artist based in New Haven, CT. I went to the School of Visual Arts and completed my education with a BFA in Cartooning. I have a background in traditional cartooning and oil painting. Currently I create my personal and professional work on an iPad using the Procreate app. I specialize in Graphic Recording, Portraits and Pop Art. My work has been featured by NFT NYC 2023, Arts and Ideas, The Shops at Yale, New Haven Cultural, The Arts Council, The Tie Bar and Power to The Patients.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
What comes to mind is my college education. Through grants and student loans I was able to go to The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. Unfortunately my family and I could not afford the price of room and board. I knew this was the school I wanted to go to to develop myself as an artist. I chose to commute. Now, I’m from New Haven so that involved taking the Metro North everyday. For 9am classes I was up at 5am commuting to New York with oil paintings that weren’t even dry yet. It was that level of discipline that I continue to apply to my discipline.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
For me offline marketing (networking events, etc) have actually helped enhance my social media marketing. People know me in my community. Hosting events, having and documenting my high profile commissions and documenting them have helped me connect with both new clients and students. Aside from that I am always reading and studying tech, social media marketing and connecting to my audience. For someone just starting out I would recommend discovering what you love and focusing on that. I have three main Instagram pages to focus on my love of art, fashion and photography. They’re separate because it’s easier to discover specific things that I love. Last thing would be to appear on camera (which I need to do more.) to connect to your growing fan base.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.raheemnelson.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/raheemnelsonart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raheemn1
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raheem-nelson-34565544
Image Credits
Photo by my wife, Rahisha Bivens. Illustrations by myself (Raheem Nelson Art)