Robin M. Milligan

Happy New Year!
I hope that 2026 is better than 2025.
I hope that all your wishes come true.
And if they do not…

I hope you move toward what you want
With every spare step and every breath
Because life is too short to stay trapped
In old patterns and self denial.

Let 2026 see you set fire to your doubt.
Not with resolutions or short-lived solutions
I wish you persistence and determination
To make all of your decisions and mistakes
In order to get that much closer to happiness.

I hope you chase your dreams absolutely
And without care for how anyone else sees them
And that when someone sh*ts on your joy
You chose joy and better company.

Happy New Year.

#2026

The sunset today was intensely beautiful! These are not touched up in any way.

Vulnerability isn’t weakness, it’s courage.
June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. Since today is the last day of June, let’s redefine what it means to ‘be a man’. Since childhood, many men are taught to hide their feelings. Be tough, don’t complain. But the truth is: men feel deeply. Men hurt. Men struggle.

Men account for about 80% of all suicides in the U.S.
That’s not strength, it's silence, and it’s devastating.

Emotions aren’t feminine, they’re human.

Hey friend, if you're hurting please reach out. Share your worry, shame, or doubt with someone who cares.

We love you, we need you.

In loving memory of my best friend Ted Occhino. I still carry your light. 🦋

Model prefers to remain anonymous

Photography by Robin Milligan

**e

Almost everything that could have gone wrong, did!

I felt so unprofessional, and imposter syndrome was threatening to take over my brain.

Just before the model arrived at my studio I slipped hard in the mud and had to change clothes. 😞

I kept knocking things over in my currently in progress studio, not being used to the layout yet. I even knocked over my lights, more than once.

All three of my smaller airbrushes were having trouble with the brand of body paint I used (even though I had used that same paint with those same airbrushes before without issues).

I unclogged each of them many times before the last straw…

My smaller air compressor then overheated and decided to stop working. 😱

At that point I gave up on the airbrushes for this shoot. It just wasn’t my day.

It had been 5 hours that should have been 2 or less. I was contemplating just calling it a bust.

Model Tammy () and I joked that I had more paint on me than she did. The pressure in the clog was so great at one point that I even ended up with paint on the ceiling! There was paint everywhere.

Tammy was so easy going and funny, we talked and laughed the entire time. When she saw the look on my face she knew I was considering throwing in the towel. She told me, “it would be a shame to waste the work you’ve done so far.”

I was worried that I was wasting her time, but she said she was having so much fun! So I ended up using brushes to blend in the spots that had splattered all over the already skillfully finished areas, and finished the other half of her body that had yet to be painted.

It was a fun but long and embarrassing day.

When I looked at the pictures later that night, I was glad I finished the work even though it was an entire fiasco.

Tammy shined. So beautiful, powerful, and real.

Despite the challenges of the day, the shots came out magic. The lighting was exactly as I had wanted, my hand painted background mural really shined, and although the body paint wasn’t my best work, it didn’t really matter because the pictures are stunning.

I hope you love them as much as I do.

Model

Body painting, mural, lighting, photography
By Robin Milligan

Don’t be afraid of change. I had a traumatic experience years ago with a business partner who I thought was a friend. He took all of my savings and left me no choice but to walk away from what I had built. I was making this painting for our salon. After that betrayal, it was hard tor me to even look at this painting. It was unfinished and was a constant reminder every time I walked past it in my studio. After a year or so I decided to paint over it. Not completely, but in such a way that would transform it. I started with black paint, and worked my way in. I didn’t have a plan for what it would become, I just wanted to paint over it. A few hours in, I stopped painting and looked up at it. There was a bird forming, a phoenix. I added a little more detail and she was transformed. From something that brought me pain to something powerful. The first day it was hanging for my annual solo show, it sold. One of my first long term collectors just had to have it. He loves it and I’m so glad I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and painting over the pain to create something new that brought others joy. . .

Ryan is the kind of model who makes every shoot feel effortless. They indulged me in my rainbow obsession for this one, and I’m working on getting these all ready so I can continue to release them all this month in solidarity with Pride and what it stands for. Being proud of who you are, even in the face of oppression. Sometimes the best way to resist is to exist.

Model Ryan Irons (Ryanzalien)
Concept, paint, and photography by me,
Robin M. Milligan

**e **eart

When asked what color of dragon I would be, this is what I came up with. Multi colored cotton candy scales, lounging on the fluffiest of clouds, claws outstretched as though waiting for a margarita to magically appear in my talons. 😏

Never forget, you are the art.

Model : Ryan

Concept, Body Paint, and Photography
by Robin M. Milligan

Be sure to put Dream Studio on your list of First Friday events to attend and check out the works of these amazing artists!

June 6 from 5-8pm.

See you there!

“Smolder”

Model Ryan Irons (ryanzalien on Instagram)
Body paint and photography by Robin Milligan

“Smolder”

Model Ryan Irons (ryanzalien on instagram)
Body paint and photography by Robin Milligan

Working with this incredible human is always a blast. Ryan brings fierceness, professionalism, and beauty to every shoot. Here’s a quick phone snapshot from the photoshoot we did this weekend. There will be more photos soon!
I can’t wait for our next project!

Model: Ryan Irons

Body paint, lighting, and photography
by Robin M. Milligan