Today we’d like to introduce you to Beaux Moduno.
Hi Beaux, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I got my artistic start as an illustrator and painter. When I was younger, I was taught by my grandmother how to draw and paint. We would use Bob Ross tutorials, grabbing all the paint and brushes I could muster to carry, and we would sit for hours. I would sit and try to paint my happy little trees with a great deal of freedom like he did.
Creativity was deeply fostered in my family. That kind of environment was what I needed at the time and shaped the creative I am today. I had a really imaginative and vivid mind (Synesthesia), so painting and drawing were my ways of putting what I saw onto paper or canvas. Music was a huge part of artistic expressionism in my middle school years. I found comfort in musical artists such as: BTS, Ethel Cain, Melanie Martinez, and Stromae (to name a few). Through these outlets, I came to love looking at the world from different lenses and it shaped how I thought about creativity.
Around the same time, I discovered Graphic Design. It felt like I had found how something that matched how I thought and approached art. I was able to mix visually compelling compositions and tell stories through them. I was so excited that I began self teaching myself photoshop and illustrator. I studied about graphic designs history, not only here in the United States, but in other cultures around the world. I loved (and still love) working in a Dadaism style and studying its part in world history in the 1900’s.
Taking that as inspiration, I wanted to make work that people would stop in their tracks and be drawn into. By the time I graduated high school, I felt like I had some goals in mind: Become a Graphic Designer and go into an industry (or two) that I loved.
It has been surprising where my life has taken me. Because I am doing what I have dreamed of. I’m working as a freelance graphic designer, photographer, creative director, and getting to create things that make people feel something when they see my work. I am also surrounded by amazing creatives and friends who challenge me to always create something that I am proud to share.
Last fall, one of my friends “dared” me to do something new.. Something that I had dabbled in a few times but never really got into.. It was photography. They were also a photographer and encouraged me to try it. Luckily, I had just inherited an old DSLR from one of my family members, along with an old broken film camera from the 80’s that my mother used to use. It seemed like a sign. So I gave it a try!
I restored the film camera and started learning how to use my DSLR. I started shooting around winter of last year and have been hooked ever since. My friend would give me new things to try each time we met up. We would go to photography events together, they would give me a goal to achieve and I would go wild with my camera. Learning, Trying new styles, failing a lot and my artistic intuition to guide me. I’m incredibly thankful to them for pushing me out of my comfort zone into something that I truly love doing now. As I continued, I began to use anxiousness as a sign that I was doing something right. I was where I was supposed to be. I have gotten to collaborate with so many beautiful souls who have been incredibly kind and patient in my journey as a photographer.
After a while, I wanted something that felt really challenging. Something that mixed my past interests with what I was currently doing. I discovered concert photography and gave it a try.
I reached out to a few local venues and landed my first show in April. It was a musical artist I discovered around 2021 and was so excited to have booked them. After I sent the first photos the next morning, My fate was sealed and I fell in love with concert photography. Remembering my love for music as a young kid, I loved getting to see so many songs come to life in my head.. Concert photography feels like that, but I also get to capture that magic of live music from so many different artists and genres. It feels like my safe space. I love getting to, not only photograph amazing concert moments, but getting to continue feed my deeply rooted love of music.
I feel so honored and grateful to be where I am right now. I never imagined I would have become the creative I am today. It feels like a dream that I never want to wake up from and I am always aiming higher. I am aiming for the stars and I will do everything I can to carve my way in the sky to reach them.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I graduated high school in the spring of 2020. The world was in disarray and it felt like my goals seemed to feel mountainous compared to what they were before. It was hard navigating around in a world that was changing and to work in the most unusual of places when it came to school. Looking back, I wish I could put a hand on my younger self and tell them that it would all work out.
During that time, I was picking up barista jobs at Starbucks and stretching myself until I was mentally breaking. I found my love for coffee in all of this chaos. It was such a good mixture of skill, art, science, and craftsmanship. It seems pretty random to have discovered that at Starbucks, but I will always be thankful to the people who fostered my love for the craft.
After I finished college, I was still looking for a way to get myself established as a graphic designer. So I continued to working as a barista. I left Starbucks and was hired at a local artisanal coffee shop. I enjoyed getting to grow in my knowledge of the industry and I discovered more about the in-depth crafting of artisanal high grade coffee. It felt like my desires shifted a little bit. Sadly after about a year and half, I was laid off and the business closed. I was sad because I had gotten a small glimpse of what coffee could be: Community focused!
That was my next goal: Find something that aligned with my dreams at this point in my life: Coffee and Graphic Design!
I applied to everything I could. About 2 weeks passed and hundreds of rejections. I was feeling so discouraged and like a failure. I was picking up random small jobs from regulars and small projects. I was quickly running out of options. One day, one of my old regulars sent me a post on instagram. It was a small coffee shop that led with being community-focused! They were hiring and it sounded like a great place to be. It was focused on community and fellowship, while maintaining an amazing crafted experience in coffee. I applied and was hired. Now a year later, I am now the creative director and lead roaster at my day job. Balancing all of this has been what has made my journey so difficult, but it has started to feel so much easier as I continue working. I feel such a strong sense of accomplishment and gratitude in what I have made of myself in this life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Graphic Designer with a focus on branding, identity, and visual communication. It combines my love for storytelling and it allows me to help someone create a personality for themself as a business.
As a Photographer, I mainly specialize in concerts photography. I love experiencing live music and so getting to photograph shows through the lens has been incredibly fun. When I am not in the photo pit, I am in a studio or outside trying to create a cinematic style photos. My style tends to be more artsy and leans into “arthouse” movie. Mixing what I used to do in my Illustration and paintings with who I am as a creative.
In both of these fields, I love getting to make something that people feel like represents themself and their branding. I work to give them a whole new perspective on what their branding could be and what it is. I want clients to feel seen and shown what a good visual identity can do.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
While I was in college, I never realized how important networking truly is. As I have been growing my business, networking is everything to my growth. This was something I did not fully understand until now and it feels silly. At least it is now early on in my career as I am establishing myself, rather than later.
I have gained so many amazing people in my life who I am happy to have a friends or to have creative partnerships with.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://moddesignandphotography.my.canva.site/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moduno.design/
