Meet Beaux Latham | Artist & Animator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Beaux Latham and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Beaux, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
I used to cringe every time I heard it but my dad has always said “Any day above ground is great.” but time has given it a different feel. Struggles make you stronger no matter what they are so it really is a quote that keeps growing more relevant every day. I want to update it to “The grass is always greener above ground” or “At least you’re not rotting underground with a mouth full of dirt” or something but his version is much less triggering.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve always leaned into experimentation and play in my work, and embracing imperfectness. Currently I’m feeling like there’s nothing I take more seriously than injecting play and casualness into a piece of animation or illustration or music or whatever I’m working on. Technology is at a point where the digital tools are so powerful they are leveling the playing field in a really wonderful way, yet there’s an undercurrent of hunger for real world connection to the media we are consuming. My intent working in animation has always been to inject handmade cartoony-ness into the work I do, sometimes misguidedly (possibly usually misguidedly) but that quickly evolved into adding organic texture and messy human fingerprints of some kind. I think it’s a good and necessary counterpoint to the digital flood of media we consume. There was a point where I’d been so focused on working quickly with imitation digital drawing artist friends basically had to re introduce me to paper. That was like a lightning bolt to my system and now I try to keep at least one foot in the analog world all the time. 

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d first ask if they want to walk, bike or auto and then let them know the spot is not important, having them here is the experience I’m most interested in. If they are an artist or tinkerer I’d probably bring them with me to Turnip Green Creative Reuse Recycle and explore and see what sort of objects and materials jump out at us to create with. There are lovely places to walk and or ride in my area and all over Nashville. I love a good dive bar, Rosie’s Twin Kegs is a favorite of mine, but I’d love to try somewhere new with them somewhere well off the beaten path. After that we’d stay up all night telling stories and catching up, then I would tuck them into bed and sing them lullabies until they fell into slumber and I would stay up and watch them sleep (jk). Next morning we would have espresso until we vibrated to another realm, preferably at Crema. Hanging out and playing some music would be a good finisher.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shortly after moving to Nashville from NYC a dozen or so years ago, I was feeling the effects of not only being a freelancer in a new city but reacting to being in a new home with few connections but also being in a city where socialization requires much more intentionality. I was a newish dad, and being home was great but I missed the part of being in a large city on a small island. In NYC you can walk around or get on the subway and have no plan at all then run into a friend or stumble upon some hidden gem of a club, art exhibit or just wander and soak in the energy. I worked at a mad men era ad agency where there was a hidden bar on the 6th floor “Central Filing” where you meet up with coworkers for a cocktail made by Joe the bartender, in a city where the whole world seems at your fingertips and you can hardly go anywhere without running into someone you know. Moving to a smaller city where most places require a car to get there and knowing only a few people I slowly and comfortably sank into comfortable isolation with my wife and toddler. While my introverted side relished this, my extrovert side began to panic and the lack of connection started weighing on me. I’d done some homework on Nashville, and made a few social media connections but I honestly don’t remember how I heard about Jason Lyons and NuMMS (Nashville Media Makers Summit (formerly Beer Summit)) but it was a life saver and I’ve made some of the best friends and am sustained by this inside out version of after hours drinks with coworkers and am so thankful to be part of the current core group of media folks.

Website: https://linktr.ee/beauxlatham

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beauxlatham/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beaux-latham/

Image Credits
Images courtesy of Bolo Bros, BootGunMusic, CMT, Grand Old Opry, Gaylord, Moo Creative Media, Prime Video, Reconnecting Roots