How we met:
Justin and I met about seven years ago at my parents house. He and his now wife Abby came over with Justin’s parents, Jim and Gina. I think we were both too cool to meet new people at the time but we made it through a conversation.
Three things I appreciate about Justin:
1. Justin feels like family to me. He and his family are just an extension of ours and those types of relationships you cherish.
2. Justin is an awesomely talented artist. His work is painfully precise and intentional and I’m proud of him for that. Check it out here: http://www.justinbryannelson.com/
3. I’m a huge fan of the way Justin’s beard grows and I would like for him to let it go for a while.
My favorite memory of Justin:
One time Justin, Zac Copple, and I went to Ocala to go hunting. Our hunting trip turned into a three day long camping trip. We got Zac’s truck stuck, got lost in the woods, a few times, and had some pretty solid bbq. One of my favorite Justin memories comes from that trip, too. After a solid day of searching for some good area to hunt we came across a beautiful spot. An amazing watering hole surrounded by dense woods and tons of sign. We were pumped. We started to unpack the truck and set up camp. I was up at the truck and Justin and Zac were supposed to be getting some things together at camp. Justin had borrowed his dad’s 30-06 and was playing with it when he accidentally fired it into the ground. Haha! Thinking back it was funny but I was so mad when it happened. Zac actually has the incident on video too. The following morning Zac and I got up really early and hid in the woods and waited for Justin to get up and walk out of the tent. He came out and started walking around and looking for us. After a couple minutes we started yelling and shooting(safely, of course) into the ground to scare him. It worked, I think. Needless to say, our hunting camp turned into a shooting camp and the only meat we were eating was from the BBQ place down the road.
July 14th, 2011 at 10:59 am
I think that Justin is rad. He’s so talented! And if it was ever ok to envy
i totally envy his trips to Japan! He has done so much cool stuff in his life and I’m sure there’s more to come for him and Abby (who is totally rad as well).
July 14th, 2011 at 11:42 am
I think Justin is a wonderful artist too! I don’t get it sometimes, but that could be my lack of coolness
But talented , oh yes he is, and so is his wife.He is also a pretty great guy..probably would have to be considering he is a Nelson!!
July 14th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
I love the fact that the first time I saw that photo was when Justin sent it to me as a picture message that night, trying to rub it in my face. What was awesome was that the photo wasn’t on his phone, so he took a photo of someone else’s camera screen with his phone and sent me that, so I could barely see what was going on.
I also like that Justin broadened his food horizons in Japan. The guy likes mushrooms now!
July 14th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
I think Justin is an amazing artist! Plus he’s flipping great at Halo. He also makes the best come backs. Even though some of those come backs are pointed towards me…
July 14th, 2011 at 10:41 pm
I love his smile, his adventure and seeing he and his sweet wife at church! Big hug Justin!
July 15th, 2011 at 8:38 am
Justin is not only amazingly talented but he is a hard worker at what he loves. He is extremely loyal to his artwork and he puts a lot of passion and love into each piece. Christopher and I of course support him wholeheartedly with his reject pieces lining our walls. Even though he tries hard not to be, he often shows his sweet side. He loves his little family of Abby and Elijah and it shows. Justin is one of those people that truly impresses me.
July 15th, 2011 at 8:45 am
Justin use to draw “vw dune buggies” on the walls of his bedroom when he was about 3. That was when we noticed his love for drawing and even then at that young age, he was very detailed in his drawings. I believe God has gifted him in his life with his art and my biggest prayer for him is that his life will be a wonderful reflection of the Master Artist in his life, the One who created him! So thankful for my sweet son!!