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Elijah Carson

@carson.drawz

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Omaha NE
BFA in Studio Art
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Concept art for the homie @connyfranko for an upcoming single.

I found Conny through NPR’s Riverside Chats, a series based here in Omaha that I genuinely love for how it engages with culture, politics, art, everything in between. Hearing him on there stuck with me. His work feels deeply in tune with the moment, honest, aware, and reflective. You gotta check out his stuff.

We ended up connecting, and I put this together for one of his new tracks. I won’t say too much yet…

12x12 watercolor and gouache, originally done in black and white so I could explore color digitally. A few variations above.
-Carson by @carson.drawz

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7 months ago

The strongest men I have known were defined not by force, but by kindness.
-Carson by @carson.drawz

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7 months ago

I͑ k̸̡̢͎͚̦͕͇̣͖͋̈̒͑̉͊ͪ_̞̯͍ͨͨ̓_n̵̡̫̱͕̙̠̠ͪͩ̌̓ͭͥ́̓̌̏ͪ̇̐̾͜͜͝o̧̡͚͖͔͉̠̗̥̔̄ͫ̐̾̀́̓͝_̣̞̪̭ͤͪ̏ͣ͡w̸̡̢̫̰̣͈̻̳͙̲̯ͮ̂͋͒̈̈́̈́̐̒ͬ͌̏̈́̑ͪ̓͘ ẃ̵̴̨̫͈̥̖̻̥̣̺̙̟̮̟͕̭̃̐̉́́̔͒̅̚͝͠͠͠h̴̨̡̦̮̞̗͖̬̞͖͖̫́̓̎ͭ̈ͦ͂ͫ̎ͣ́ͮͫ̋ͬ̆̾͊́ͨ̇̒̚̚a̢͓͍̎͒͒̀͌_̮̺͎͍̤͖̽ͥ͗̓͊̀̓͌ͅț̶̵̴̵̪̜̫̳̥͙͇̣̲̲͍̦̄̃͊͛̓́̀ͪ̂̏̃̌ͨ͘̚ y̷̵̶̷̛͈̠͈͈̺̖̩̘̗̭̯̙ͪͩ̏́̆ͥͯ̓ͦͣ͛̇ͥͩ͛ͪͦͦͧͦͨ͋̀̚͜͢͠ͅͅo̸̝͖͎̖̲̯̤̜͌́̾ͭ͜͟u̧̹̗̥̝̳̮̭̫̹͚̥͉͊͌͗̍̑ͪ̍̋ͮͮͯ͑͌͗ͥ͘͘͜͜͠ ạ̵̧̛͚͍͖͎͕̞̅̂̒ͨ͐ͮͥ̓͑͑̃͜͜͝r̨̨͍͖̦͚̥̞̘͍̥͖̥͖͊ͯ͗̂ͩͫ̎̋̋͌ͫ̂̀̔̃͟é̸̛̛̞̙̠̹̳̰͎̏͂̀̆̽ͯ͛̉̀̿̓͛͆̔ͨ̈́̓ͯ̓͌̕̚͘͜͟͜͜

-̨̍̚C̡͍̘̯̭̩͖̲̻͕̦̦͎̝̜͙͓̋̉ͯ̊ͤ̽ͭ̿͒̂̔ͨ̾̋͂ͮͩ̊ͫ͗̉͞͞ͅa̴̶̻̰̘̠͙̭̳̤̹͐̍ͨ́̒͊̌ͥ͐̂͑ͣ̒rͮs̡̛͇̳̞̹̣͇ͭ͊̆ͬ̀͗̋̔ͤͧ̈́ͯͩ̕͘͢͟͞͞͠͡ͅo̥̟͉͛ͥ͊_̯͇̟͎͍̫͕̫̞̺̺ͣ̀ͫ̿͌̌ͯͧ̑̓͒̈̅ͤ̑͂͆͛̕͘͟͞͠ņ̷̡͓̮͈̰̺̺̘̝̟̙̝͖͙̜͊ͦ̐̄̋̀̾ͮͤ̑ͦ̀̃̓̎̅̔̐͘ by @carson.drawz

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7 months ago

Dear creators,

I am writing to you today with both weariness and hope in my soul. It has become increasingly clear to me that the world needs us, desperately. It is the artists, the musicians, the thinkers, and the creators who help shift the tide in the ongoing struggle for truth, goodness, and empathy.

Over the past year, I have sensed what feels like a systematic attack on creation itself. Of course, this is nothing new. Throughout history, when those in power attempt to control the narrative of truth, the first voices they try to silence are often the artists and the educators. Creativity threatens rigid systems because it asks questions and imagines alternatives.

Now, more than ever, we must remain vigilant, but not afraid. There are forces that would love nothing more than for us to put down the paintbrush, to close the notebook, to silence the instrument. They would prefer we believe that creation is futile. But this could not be further from the truth.

It is the creator who offers such an insightful performance to the world that something shifts in the very moment it is witnessed. It is the creator who chooses to turn off their phone and paint a quiet landscape, and in doing so, quietly wins the war for attention. It is the creator who writes a song that makes someone feel understood for the first time in years. It is the creator who stages a play that forces an audience to sit in uncomfortable truth rather than scroll past it. It is the creator who draws what others are too afraid to say out loud. It is the creator who refuses to create for algorithms and instead creates for truth.

I truly believe it is our responsibility to continue creating. What the world needs now is something real, something honest, something that refuses to look away. And I can think of no one better to offer that than the creator.

With love,
A creator <3 by @carson.drawz

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8 months ago

I’ve been experimenting a lot with color lately, and it’s been an absolute blast. The first image in this post began as a painting in orange and green, with the lights and darks completely inverted. My original goal was to see how many art no nos I could break, so I flipped my reference image, chose two secondary analogous colors, and set out with no underpainting and almost no compositional planning. I’ve always loved the red and green combination, but it can be tricky to pull off since it can easily remind people of Christmas. To push the challenge further, I used no black or white in my mixtures, only straight red and green from the tube. That meant creating all my value shifts purely through mixing, keeping the colors as separate as possible for highlights, and blending them for deeper tones. This process felt like the ultimate art workout. I constantly had to remember that my lights and darks were reversed, and for most of the painting, I wasn’t confident it would work at all. I actually decided not to post it on Instagram, thinking it would just remain an experiment. But then, out of curiosity, I dropped a photo of it into Photoshop and inverted it to see if my value structure held up. Watching the image reveal itself and come alive in reverse was incredibly satisfying. The results surprised me so much that I had to share. Above is the inverted painting, the original red and green version, and a small bonus piece from my sketchbook. This experiment challenged everything I thought I knew about color and composition, I hope you guys like it! -Carson taken in Omaha, Nebraska by @carson.drawz

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a year ago

“Green Fields” is a series of drawings I made over the summer after moving to Omaha, Nebraska. This work was about going back to basics, creating purely for myself again. The move was tough. Between new jobs, school, and adjusting to a different rhythm, I didn’t have the same time or space to make like I did during my undergrad. The grass wasn’t greener on the other side, just different. But over these past months, I’ve realized that change isn’t something to resist, it’s something to move with. These drawings became a way to slow down, to reconnect, and to remember why I started creating in the first place. In the end, Green Fields feels honest, a quiet return to the simple act of drawing, without expectation, just observation and reflection. taken in Omaha, Nebraska by @carson.drawz

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a year ago

•2025 Nebraska Artist Biennial•

I am deeply honored to have my master copy of Judith Slaying Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi included in this year’s showcase. The exhibition is filled with extraordinary artists and remarkable works of art, and I feel grateful to share space among them. I find it both inspiring and essential that places like @gallery1516 continue to uplift and celebrate the brilliant minds creating here in Nebraska. The world needs more art and more artists, now more than ever.

Thank you, Gallery 1516. The public opening will be on October 3rd from 6–8 pm, come see it for yourself! taken in Gallery 1516 by @carson.drawz

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a year ago

“Blue Flowers” is a 9x11 graphite drawing that kept me on my toes. I changed directions several times while making it, and during that same period, a lot of wild things were happening in the world. Both consciously and subconsciously, those events shifted the narrative behind the piece and what it came to mean for me. Over time, the drawing became an outlet to wrestle with questions of empathy, nuance, and what it means to be human in an age of relentless information. Regardless of where one stands politically or socially, I think we can agree that the unending stream of news, tragedy, violence, desire, and distraction that pours into our lives daily takes a toll on the mind.

At times, I feel as though we are all participants in a massive experiment: what happens when sensory-dependent beings are subjected to infinite input, an endless flood of images, emotions, and narratives? How does that shape our capacity for compassion, for stillness, for meaning?

Blue Flowers became my way of sitting with those questions, of pausing in the noise to create something fragile, empathetic, and human. Sometimes the most radical act we can do in a world of constant input is to step back, breathe, and—quite literally—smell the flowers. -Carson
#omahaartists #pencildrawing #doodle #drawing #aftereffects #droctagon #artist #omahaart #omaha taken in Omaha, Nebraska by @carson.drawz

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a year ago

Always making <3
-Carson taken in Omaha, Nebraska by @carson.drawz

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a year ago

“Submarines” 9”x11” charcoal and graphite on cold-press paper. I had so much fun making this video and drawing. Lately I’ve been letting my mind wander and just enjoying the process. I didn’t have a plan for this piece, I just wanted to play around, choosing what I liked and didn’t like as I went.

That’s very different from how I usually work. Most of the time, I plan everything out and start with a clear concept or idea. But for this drawing and video, I let loose and simply had fun. I think that comes through in the finished piece, and I really enjoy that.

If you’d like this drawing, or others like it, you can find me at the Backyard Makers Market on September 13th, 2714 S 41st St. Omaha NE, from 1–4pm.
-Carson

#drawing #omahaartists #aftereffects #doodle #pencildrawing taken in Omaha, Nebraska by @carson.drawz

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a year ago

“Death in your Grips”
I had an absolutely wonderful time making this t-shirt and the video that goes with it. I came up with the design in Photoshop and then transferred it to the shirt by hand. The idea was to have a skeleton reaching up and literally having the word “death” in his grips (see what I did there?).

I’m super new to using bleach but wanted to add it to my ever-growing list of hobbies. After some experimenting, I realized this medium has quite the learning curve. You have to remember where you’ve already painted since the bleach takes a second to show up, and on top of that, you kind of have to guess how bright it’ll end up once it dries.

I definitely want to give this another go sometime and really dial in my technique. Regardless, this was a lot of fun to make—and this t-shirt is actually for sale if you want it! Just DM me and we can talk details. And if you want a totally custom shirt of your own, reach out for that too.

Also, big shoutout to my helper Crabinator—he’s that little guy you’ll see for a brief moment in the video. He was clutch in bringing me my brushes.
-Carson taken in Omaha, Nebraska by @carson.drawz

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a year ago

I had a lot of fun making this 6x8 oil painting on copper. I’m new to painting on copper and didn’t really know what I was doing, but I fell in love with the texture and glow. Life’s been hectic lately, so it was awful nice to paint a pretty house and just let my mind drift.
-Carson taken in Omaha, Nebraska by @carson.drawz

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a year ago