Was it the people you met? The feeling of a greater purpose you got from a project you completed? Maybe it was something you always wanted to do, and you just kept doing it because it was fun.
For Desert Mountain Member Ellison Keomaka, it was a mix of all three. Ever since he was a kid growing up in the West Valley, drawing has been his passion. Being into comic books, he would often draw different characters. As well as being into motorsports and dirt bikes while watching Orange County Choppers, his early dream was to airbrush designs onto motorcycles.
Art was his voice, as Keomaka called it. During his senior year of high school, he found himself using his voice for a different purpose, and it gave him a vivid realization of what he could possibly do with his work, and what it could mean for others.
“My senior year, a student at my school passed away, and I saw how it affected the whole school,” Keomaka said. “I volunteered to create something for the family, a motorcross helmet, and when I delivered it to the family, there was this wave of emotion. It was one of those moments that I’ll never forget, even with people that I had never met before.
“It was the ability to create something that surpassed words.”
From there, the connection that Keomaka felt between his work and the emotions brought up is what he wanted more of.
Even while bouncing from job to job, Keomaka kept thinking of how he could explore more of those emotions, but also turn his art into an actual career. He was able to learn first-hand the business side of art while working in an airbrush studio after high school. He used any downtime he had between answering phones at the State of Arizona office to draw car illustrations while going to local art stores to buy cheap paper and markers.
Using those perspectives and with enough illustrations on hand, Keomaka drove himself to different car builders, showed them his portfolio and asked them if they’d like any renderings drawn up.
That persistence ultimately paid off.
“I still remember getting my first check after my first sale – just sitting in my car, staring at it, thinking, ‘Wow, this is incredible,’” Keomaka recalled. “It was a moment of realization that my art had value beyond just the paper and marker – it connected with someone enough for them to invest in it.”
To really drive home the realization, Keomaka pooled together enough money with help from his dad and a local frame shop and held an art show at the Goodguys Car Show.
“I was selling these renderings of vintage cars to many people throughout the show, and I realized I didn’t want a normal job,” Keomaka said.
He then started attending different art shows. His tenacity of asking people if they ever thought about having custom art created for their project turned into opportunities to work for major clients around the country. At the age of 21, he got connected with representatives from a garage floor company at one show, and two weeks later found himself in a boardroom at Coca-Cola designing two wall murals at one of their distribution centers. In 2014, the United State Marine Corps renamed the subordinate units under their special operations force, MARSOC, to the Marine Raiders, a moniker used by the original elite infantry unit from World War II. Through these connections, he created a modern take on the vintage insignia used by the Raiders, paying tribute to the unit by merging the past and present. In addition, he painted the names of fallen Marines in a classroom at Range 130, a close quarters training range at Camp Pendleton.
Even with his resume of impressive clients, Keomaka’s lifelong belief has been to “learn through action.” Putting his work on the line, taking risks and showing his work is what propelled him to this point in his career. When starting something new, he uses his past experiences and mindset to design a piece that is more than just vivid and eye-catching, but also one that tells a story and shares a meaningful connection with the client and any outside viewer.
“I’ll sit down for an interview and I’ll ask some real pointed questions, looking to have a deep interaction with them, and ultimately creating from those notes,” Keomaka said.
He’ll find inspiration from different textures he hasn’t used before. While going around town, he will take pictures of various objects and later use them in his sketches and drawings. Even if it’s a spilled can of paint, he will use it to add to his work.
Months may go by until he believes the painting is officially complete, but what he says truly ignites the process is making himself do the work and placing it in an art show, no matter what.
“I let the pressure drive my creativity,” Keomaka said. “It’s like I wear two hats. The manager in me says, ‘I have two months to do this.’ But the artist in me forces creativity, and that’s what makes it fun.”
For Keomaka, a prime example of this creative style is the piece that hangs in the Russ Lyon|Sotheby’s office here at Desert Mountain. While meeting with close friend and fellow Desert Mountain Member, Jack O’Keefe, Keomaka was asked to design original artwork that would represent the office and surrounding community, and was given shards of ancient Indigenous pottery as a possible starting point.
There had not been any original artwork in the office before. Keomaka’s finished product, Tapestry of Time, weaves the shards themselves and their colors with elements of Southwestern scenery and art that brings to life the story of the Arizona desert.
Even with an admitted level of nerves to begin, it was the challenge of playing with different textures and the pressure of creating something dynamic and bold that pushed Keomaka to design a piece he says involved all parts of the real-time, art-making process that he enjoys the most.
“The coolest part about it was balancing the importance of the pottery while still making a really cool piece of art. Pooling all that together is the essence of what excites me,” Keomaka said.
When not in his studio, you may find him playing guitar, practicing jiu-jitsu or out playing golf. He views these other interests as all part of his work; “practicing life and meditation through action,” as Keomaka says.
Along the way, the importance of the lessons he’s learned is where he’s able to work through any fears and discover even more about himself and what he can do.
It’s a life lesson he wants all others to know, too.
“For me, the ability to remain curious enough throughout your career means to act and do things not out of fear,” Keomaka said. “A lot of us struggle with purpose, but people would be amazed at what they can do when given the time to solve a problem.”
This story was originally written for and published in the Spring 2025 issue of Inside Desert Mountain Magazine. Read more about Ellison Keomaka and view more of his work on his website, keomaka.com.
