Nicole Beno on layers, colour, and curiosity

cgoucher
Aug 25
7 min read

Updated: Aug 31

Playful, layered, and always curious, Nicole Beno creates work that blends collage, colour, and storytelling in ways that feel both thoughtful and alive. In this 6Qs, she shares the spark that shaped her creative voice, the projects that surprised her, and what lights her up today.

You have such a distinct creative voice, playful, layered, and deeply thoughtful. Looking back, can you pinpoint an early moment that sparked this way of seeing and making?
Oh thank you..I think it’s how I see the world and my relationship to it. For some reason an art piece for me has never felt ‘done’ unless it has multiple layers and I get this obsessiveness with each one to keep adding and taking away images until I’m fully satisfied - like a push and pull, or a puzzle. I’m trying to do the opposite lately and challenge myself to simplify and reduce. I remember always being obsessed with storytelling through visuals, and how to weave in multiple narratives and threads throughout a piece - adding moments to zoom in and find little hidden moments or treasures. In a sense I love to illustrate the inner-workings of the world around us - things that go missed or unseen, and I’ve developed a way of image-making that feels like a combination of analog and digital where I remix and take found objects and imagery out of context and make it something new. I’ve always been a bit of a flaneur, walking, being curious about cities, observing, documenting, taking photos. The ADHD side of me has a hard time sorting through it all, and the visual jumble of layers and collage becomes a commentary in a way to our image-saturated world. I love when my work gets to be playful, it makes things feel lighter in a world that can feel so dark at times.
From murals to textiles to installations and public commissions, your creative range is incredible. Has anything surprised you about the projects or clients you’ve attracted?
Colour has surprised me! I didn’t realize that I have a distinct colour palette, or my use of colour. I love using colour in my work and I feel really confident with it - it’s often a feeling I get when certain colours just go together and I know. This has surprised me that my work has become known for its colour palette, which at times is a bit unhinged haha. I think that’s what brings certain clients to my work is the vibrancy.

It’s always a process though and I love to test things out and try new media and styles to work with. I think it’s important to try things even when it feels really unknown, or even when I don’t know what the final result may look like yet. I try to test out new ideas and projects in my studio with the hope that one day they may become client work. If anything I love finding new obsessions and developing a visual language that feels unique.
Is there a project or moment that felt especially personal or transformative for you? Something that shifted how you think about your work or process?
I think it’s been when I decided to explore what my voice is as an artist. In the past I’ve taken on a lot of commissions and work for clients where they’ve hired me for my style, I’m given a theme, a parameter to work within, but through all that I realized I didn’t really know what my voice is as an artist, like what my work is about. Recently I’ve started to reflect more and explore that. It’s about searching deep inside myself and find the why - both for myself and how it relates to a larger context in culture, and identity. It’s always the hardest though - especially prioritizing work for myself which feels more abstract and doesn’t have the same set parameters as client work. It means doing a lot of thinking, writing and researching, and for me that’s always been hard, I’m really good at just diving in and making stuff, but then I find it’s harder to find the why. And sometimes I don’t care so much, like hey, I’m having fun, this is a material study, or I just want to make a pretty image. But I think as I’ve gotten older, it is important for me to build a practice around something that is really close to my heart. I know that’s the work that also takes time, and evolves overtime, so being patient, slowing down a bit, and just feeling things out.

Right now I would love to get back to more analog ways of making that involve the body, my hands. A grotesqueness or messiness is what I’m craving. Maybe it has something to do with giving birth to a baby recently and going through that very raw process. I guess that has really shifted how I think about my work. I have a fine arts degree where I’ve done so much analog work with painting, drawing, printmaking in the past, and throughout my design career I think I lost a bit of confidence with that, and I would love to go back to it and find interesting ways to combine it with my digital practice and tools.
When you’re feeling “meh” about creating, uninspired or stuck in routine, how do you reset?
Go for a walk, bike ride, let my mind just turn off from the task or a bit. Go out to museums, galleries, look at books, antique stores. Places that offer me a sense of chance where I can stumble upon something without looking for it. If I’m working on a project and I feel like I’m just moving pixels around I’m the worst at just taking a break, but that’s usually exactly what I need to do. If I’m looking for inspiration, I try to get it from outside of the realm of design or illustration and find it elsewhere in the world.

I also think it’s important for myself to feel excited about the work I’m doing, I know that of course can’t always be the case, especially with client work. If my work doesn’t feel curious or if the work doesn’t surprise me, how can I expect my audience to feel excited by it? Everything is connected - and usually if I pivot for a bit, work on another project, or do some quick abstract drawings, collages, work with my hands for a little bit in a different way, I can change my perspective and see the work in a new light, which helps.
You’ve worked with so many different communities and collaborators. What do you think makes for a good creative partnership?
A great collaboration is trust - my favourite creative partnerships were the briefs or projects that were both specific and also open at the same time. Where the client was specific about exactly what they wanted, but also trusted in my process in how I would make it happen, and that I would make something cool in the end. I love collaborating with other creatives - I have some friends that when we get together, we think of absurd ideas that we want to see in the world, and we do studio hangs that sometimes lead to playful explorations.

I love it when I get to work on a project that’s new to me and we get to try it together, like hey this might not work out as planned but we need to try it out first and test it and see. I did that with the January in Bloom project earlier this year where I collaborated with Amit from Good Company Productions, he’s awesome. We both wanted to test out an improv music and collage performance - we tried it out and it wasn’t perfect but so much fun.
What’s lighting you up lately, in your work, or in life?
Coffee. just kidding, I have a baby now and maybe drinking too much caffeine, but she totally lights me up!

Other things that light me up:

Recent exhibition I loved at Clint Roenisch gallery by artist Leif Low-Beer. SO inspired. You can watch a short video showing his process here - His art is like a puzzle. The fun part is figuring out how it goes together | CBC Arts
Going on long ‘nothing’ walks in nature and in my neighbourhoods, and really trying to open my mind and notice my surroundings. Part of motherhood is really slowing down and embracing the everyday banality of things. The simplicity of the walk in the neighbourhood. Finding ways to dream, letting my mind roam without travelling far.
Wild gardens - I love the crazy out of control gardens where everything looks like a mess, but also somehow works?
All the fresh produce we have in Ontario during the summer.
Recently discovered this magazine called Elastic Mag https://www.elasticmag.com/ with such stunning editorial and illustrations.

Bonus Q: You have such a thoughtful, intuitive way of working, and listening. Is that something you’ve intentionally cultivated over time, or has it always come naturally to you?

Oh gosh it’s totally come over time! I think making artwork will always be a huge part of me and it’s something I need to do - like it’s a necessity. I’m not happy or I don’t feel like myself unless I’m making work, or if I’m not feeling inspired it weighs on me. Art and life are so interconnected and inspiration comes from every and all places - and I love that. There are months when the making feels more intuitive where it kind of just flows naturally, and other months where it feels a bit harder and forced, or some months where I’m just doing some thinking and writing quick thoughts in my notebooks. I’ve been doing it for so long now that I’m okay with that, and I know that’s just part of the process, and it all comes together and everything is connected even if I don’t see it yet.

Playful, layered, and always curious, Nicole Beno creates work that blends collage, colour, and storytelling in ways that feel both thoughtful and alive. In this 6Qs, she shares the spark that shaped her creative voice, the projects that surprised her, and what lights her up today.

You have such a distinct creative voice, playful, layered, and deeply thoughtful. Looking back, can you pinpoint an early moment that sparked this way of seeing and making?

Oh thank you..I think it’s how I see the world and my relationship to it. For some reason an art piece for me has never felt ‘done’ unless it has multiple layers and I get this obsessiveness with each one to keep adding and taking away images until I’m fully satisfied - like a push and pull, or a puzzle. I’m trying to do the opposite lately and challenge myself to simplify and reduce. I remember always being obsessed with storytelling through visuals, and how to weave in multiple narratives and threads throughout a piece - adding moments to zoom in and find little hidden moments or treasures. In a sense I love to illustrate the inner-workings of the world around us - things that go missed or unseen, and I’ve developed a way of image-making that feels like a combination of analog and digital where I remix and take found objects and imagery out of context and make it something new. I’ve always been a bit of a flaneur, walking, being curious about cities, observing, documenting, taking photos. The ADHD side of me has a hard time sorting through it all, and the visual jumble of layers and collage becomes a commentary in a way to our image-saturated world. I love when my work gets to be playful, it makes things feel lighter in a world that can feel so dark at times.

From murals to textiles to installations and public commissions, your creative range is incredible. Has anything surprised you about the projects or clients you’ve attracted?

Colour has surprised me! I didn’t realize that I have a distinct colour palette, or my use of colour. I love using colour in my work and I feel really confident with it - it’s often a feeling I get when certain colours just go together and I know. This has surprised me that my work has become known for its colour palette, which at times is a bit unhinged haha. I think that’s what brings certain clients to my work is the vibrancy.

It’s always a process though and I love to test things out and try new media and styles to work with. I think it’s important to try things even when it feels really unknown, or even when I don’t know what the final result may look like yet. I try to test out new ideas and projects in my studio with the hope that one day they may become client work. If anything I love finding new obsessions and developing a visual language that feels unique.

Is there a project or moment that felt especially personal or transformative for you? Something that shifted how you think about your work or process?

I think it’s been when I decided to explore what my voice is as an artist. In the past I’ve taken on a lot of commissions and work for clients where they’ve hired me for my style, I’m given a theme, a parameter to work within, but through all that I realized I didn’t really know what my voice is as an artist, like what my work is about. Recently I’ve started to reflect more and explore that. It’s about searching deep inside myself and find the why - both for myself and how it relates to a larger context in culture, and identity. It’s always the hardest though - especially prioritizing work for myself which feels more abstract and doesn’t have the same set parameters as client work. It means doing a lot of thinking, writing and researching, and for me that’s always been hard, I’m really good at just diving in and making stuff, but then I find it’s harder to find the why. And sometimes I don’t care so much, like hey, I’m having fun, this is a material study, or I just want to make a pretty image. But I think as I’ve gotten older, it is important for me to build a practice around something that is really close to my heart. I know that’s the work that also takes time, and evolves overtime, so being patient, slowing down a bit, and just feeling things out.

Right now I would love to get back to more analog ways of making that involve the body, my hands. A grotesqueness or messiness is what I’m craving. Maybe it has something to do with giving birth to a baby recently and going through that very raw process. I guess that has really shifted how I think about my work. I have a fine arts degree where I’ve done so much analog work with painting, drawing, printmaking in the past, and throughout my design career I think I lost a bit of confidence with that, and I would love to go back to it and find interesting ways to combine it with my digital practice and tools.

When you’re feeling “meh” about creating, uninspired or stuck in routine, how do you reset?

Go for a walk, bike ride, let my mind just turn off from the task or a bit. Go out to museums, galleries, look at books, antique stores. Places that offer me a sense of chance where I can stumble upon something without looking for it. If I’m working on a project and I feel like I’m just moving pixels around I’m the worst at just taking a break, but that’s usually exactly what I need to do. If I’m looking for inspiration, I try to get it from outside of the realm of design or illustration and find it elsewhere in the world.

I also think it’s important for myself to feel excited about the work I’m doing, I know that of course can’t always be the case, especially with client work. If my work doesn’t feel curious or if the work doesn’t surprise me, how can I expect my audience to feel excited by it? Everything is connected - and usually if I pivot for a bit, work on another project, or do some quick abstract drawings, collages, work with my hands for a little bit in a different way, I can change my perspective and see the work in a new light, which helps.

You’ve worked with so many different communities and collaborators. What do you think makes for a good creative partnership?

A great collaboration is trust - my favourite creative partnerships were the briefs or projects that were both specific and also open at the same time. Where the client was specific about exactly what they wanted, but also trusted in my process in how I would make it happen, and that I would make something cool in the end. I love collaborating with other creatives - I have some friends that when we get together, we think of absurd ideas that we want to see in the world, and we do studio hangs that sometimes lead to playful explorations.

I love it when I get to work on a project that’s new to me and we get to try it together, like hey this might not work out as planned but we need to try it out first and test it and see. I did that with the January in Bloom project earlier this year where I collaborated with Amit from Good Company Productions, he’s awesome. We both wanted to test out an improv music and collage performance - we tried it out and it wasn’t perfect but so much fun.

What’s lighting you up lately, in your work, or in life?

Coffee. just kidding, I have a baby now and maybe drinking too much caffeine, but she totally lights me up!

Other things that light me up:

Recent exhibition I loved at Clint Roenisch gallery by artist Leif Low-Beer. SO inspired. You can watch a short video showing his process here - His art is like a puzzle. The fun part is figuring out how it goes together | CBC Arts

Going on long ‘nothing’ walks in nature and in my neighbourhoods, and really trying to open my mind and notice my surroundings. Part of motherhood is really slowing down and embracing the everyday banality of things. The simplicity of the walk in the neighbourhood. Finding ways to dream, letting my mind roam without travelling far.

Wild gardens - I love the crazy out of control gardens where everything looks like a mess, but also somehow works?

All the fresh produce we have in Ontario during the summer.

Recently discovered this magazine called Elastic Mag https://www.elasticmag.com/ with such stunning editorial and illustrations.

Bonus Q: You have such a thoughtful, intuitive way of working, and listening. Is that something you’ve intentionally cultivated over time, or has it always come naturally to you?

Oh gosh it’s totally come over time! I think making artwork will always be a huge part of me and it’s something I need to do - like it’s a necessity. I’m not happy or I don’t feel like myself unless I’m making work, or if I’m not feeling inspired it weighs on me. Art and life are so interconnected and inspiration comes from every and all places - and I love that. There are months when the making feels more intuitive where it kind of just flows naturally, and other months where it feels a bit harder and forced, or some months where I’m just doing some thinking and writing quick thoughts in my notebooks. I’ve been doing it for so long now that I’m okay with that, and I know that’s just part of the process, and it all comes together and everything is connected even if I don’t see it yet.

"I love to illustrate the inner-workings of the world around us—things that go missed or unseen" - Nicole Beno

Know someone creative or curious, or doing something cool in their own way? That’s exactly who I love talking to. I’d love to hear about them or from them.

Did a line or moment from this interview stick with you? Leave a comment, send a message, or tag someone who might want to be part of this series. You never know whose story will show up next. I read every one.

Playful, layered, and always curious, Nicole Beno creates work that blends collage, colour, and storytelling in ways that feel both thoughtful and alive. In this 6Qs, she shares the spark that shaped her creative voice, the projects that surprised her, and what lights her up today.

You have such a distinct creative voice, playful, layered, and deeply thoughtful. Looking back, can you pinpoint an early moment that sparked this way of seeing and making?

Oh thank you..I think it’s how I see the world and my relationship to it. For some reason an art piece for me has never felt ‘done’ unless it has multiple layers and I get this obsessiveness with each one to keep adding and taking away images until I’m fully satisfied - like a push and pull, or a puzzle. I’m trying to do the opposite lately and challenge myself to simplify and reduce. I remember always being obsessed with storytelling through visuals, and how to weave in multiple narratives and threads throughout a piece - adding moments to zoom in and find little hidden moments or treasures. In a sense I love to illustrate the inner-workings of the world around us - things that go missed or unseen, and I’ve developed a way of image-making that feels like a combination of analog and digital where I remix and take found objects and imagery out of context and make it something new. I’ve always been a bit of a flaneur, walking, being curious about cities, observing, documenting, taking photos. The ADHD side of me has a hard time sorting through it all, and the visual jumble of layers and collage becomes a commentary in a way to our image-saturated world. I love when my work gets to be playful, it makes things feel lighter in a world that can feel so dark at times.

From murals to textiles to installations and public commissions, your creative range is incredible. Has anything surprised you about the projects or clients you’ve attracted?

Colour has surprised me! I didn’t realize that I have a distinct colour palette, or my use of colour. I love using colour in my work and I feel really confident with it - it’s often a feeling I get when certain colours just go together and I know. This has surprised me that my work has become known for its colour palette, which at times is a bit unhinged haha. I think that’s what brings certain clients to my work is the vibrancy.

It’s always a process though and I love to test things out and try new media and styles to work with. I think it’s important to try things even when it feels really unknown, or even when I don’t know what the final result may look like yet. I try to test out new ideas and projects in my studio with the hope that one day they may become client work. If anything I love finding new obsessions and developing a visual language that feels unique.

Is there a project or moment that felt especially personal or transformative for you? Something that shifted how you think about your work or process?

I think it’s been when I decided to explore what my voice is as an artist. In the past I’ve taken on a lot of commissions and work for clients where they’ve hired me for my style, I’m given a theme, a parameter to work within, but through all that I realized I didn’t really know what my voice is as an artist, like what my work is about. Recently I’ve started to reflect more and explore that. It’s about searching deep inside myself and find the why - both for myself and how it relates to a larger context in culture, and identity. It’s always the hardest though - especially prioritizing work for myself which feels more abstract and doesn’t have the same set parameters as client work. It means doing a lot of thinking, writing and researching, and for me that’s always been hard, I’m really good at just diving in and making stuff, but then I find it’s harder to find the why. And sometimes I don’t care so much, like hey, I’m having fun, this is a material study, or I just want to make a pretty image. But I think as I’ve gotten older, it is important for me to build a practice around something that is really close to my heart. I know that’s the work that also takes time, and evolves overtime, so being patient, slowing down a bit, and just feeling things out.

Right now I would love to get back to more analog ways of making that involve the body, my hands. A grotesqueness or messiness is what I’m craving. Maybe it has something to do with giving birth to a baby recently and going through that very raw process. I guess that has really shifted how I think about my work. I have a fine arts degree where I’ve done so much analog work with painting, drawing, printmaking in the past, and throughout my design career I think I lost a bit of confidence with that, and I would love to go back to it and find interesting ways to combine it with my digital practice and tools.

When you’re feeling “meh” about creating, uninspired or stuck in routine, how do you reset?

Go for a walk, bike ride, let my mind just turn off from the task or a bit. Go out to museums, galleries, look at books, antique stores. Places that offer me a sense of chance where I can stumble upon something without looking for it. If I’m working on a project and I feel like I’m just moving pixels around I’m the worst at just taking a break, but that’s usually exactly what I need to do. If I’m looking for inspiration, I try to get it from outside of the realm of design or illustration and find it elsewhere in the world.

I also think it’s important for myself to feel excited about the work I’m doing, I know that of course can’t always be the case, especially with client work. If my work doesn’t feel curious or if the work doesn’t surprise me, how can I expect my audience to feel excited by it? Everything is connected - and usually if I pivot for a bit, work on another project, or do some quick abstract drawings, collages, work with my hands for a little bit in a different way, I can change my perspective and see the work in a new light, which helps.

You’ve worked with so many different communities and collaborators. What do you think makes for a good creative partnership?

A great collaboration is trust - my favourite creative partnerships were the briefs or projects that were both specific and also open at the same time. Where the client was specific about exactly what they wanted, but also trusted in my process in how I would make it happen, and that I would make something cool in the end. I love collaborating with other creatives - I have some friends that when we get together, we think of absurd ideas that we want to see in the world, and we do studio hangs that sometimes lead to playful explorations.

I love it when I get to work on a project that’s new to me and we get to try it together, like hey this might not work out as planned but we need to try it out first and test it and see. I did that with the January in Bloom project earlier this year where I collaborated with Amit from Good Company Productions, he’s awesome. We both wanted to test out an improv music and collage performance - we tried it out and it wasn’t perfect but so much fun.

What’s lighting you up lately, in your work, or in life?

Coffee. just kidding, I have a baby now and maybe drinking too much caffeine, but she totally lights me up!

Other things that light me up:

Recent exhibition I loved at Clint Roenisch gallery by artist Leif Low-Beer. SO inspired. You can watch a short video showing his process here - His art is like a puzzle. The fun part is figuring out how it goes together | CBC Arts

Going on long ‘nothing’ walks in nature and in my neighbourhoods, and really trying to open my mind and notice my surroundings. Part of motherhood is really slowing down and embracing the everyday banality of things. The simplicity of the walk in the neighbourhood. Finding ways to dream, letting my mind roam without travelling far.

Wild gardens - I love the crazy out of control gardens where everything looks like a mess, but also somehow works?

All the fresh produce we have in Ontario during the summer.

Recently discovered this magazine called Elastic Mag https://www.elasticmag.com/ with such stunning editorial and illustrations.

Bonus Q: You have such a thoughtful, intuitive way of working, and listening. Is that something you’ve intentionally cultivated over time, or has it always come naturally to you?

Oh gosh it’s totally come over time! I think making artwork will always be a huge part of me and it’s something I need to do - like it’s a necessity. I’m not happy or I don’t feel like myself unless I’m making work, or if I’m not feeling inspired it weighs on me. Art and life are so interconnected and inspiration comes from every and all places - and I love that. There are months when the making feels more intuitive where it kind of just flows naturally, and other months where it feels a bit harder and forced, or some months where I’m just doing some thinking and writing quick thoughts in my notebooks. I’ve been doing it for so long now that I’m okay with that, and I know that’s just part of the process, and it all comes together and everything is connected even if I don’t see it yet.

"I love to illustrate the inner-workings of the world around us—things that go missed or unseen" - Nicole Beno

Know someone creative or curious, or doing something cool in their own way? That’s exactly who I love talking to. I’d love to hear about them or from them.

Did a line or moment from this interview stick with you? Leave a comment, send a message, or tag someone who might want to be part of this series. You never know whose story will show up next. I read every one. — Nicole reminds us that slowing down and embracing “nothing” walks can unlock creativity in surprising ways.

Know someone creative or curious, or doing something cool in their own way? That’s exactly who I love talking to. I’d love to hear about them or from them.

Did a line or moment from this interview stick with you? Leave a comment, send a message, or tag someone who might want to be part of this series. You never know whose story will show up next. I read every one.