We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Haley McMillan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Haley below.

Haley , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I’ve always felt the most fulfilled in life when doing one of two things. First, doing things where I am completely immersed in and enjoying the process. For me, that has always been music, writing, art and dance. Second, doing things that help someone. Doing art professionally happened organically–I started illustrating portraits on my iPad of my friends and family, highlighting their most special and beautiful qualities, and sharing a little paragraph about the magic I see in them. It felt good, and it felt right. It surprised me when I started getting commission requests, and I rolled with the flow. More love, more art, more happiness!

The portrait project led into a new kind of meaningful work that I didn’t expect. I started to get commissions from more and more people asking me to illustrate loved ones who had passed, or include them in family portraits, or even illustrate babies who were born sleeping to give the families an image of their baby shining bright. I’m honored to do this work and to combine creativity with healing and connection.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have always had the intrinsic desire and need to create. From as early as I can remember, I was spending my time singing, dancing, drawing, painting, writing poems and stories, and daydreaming in the woods. I took a “practical” route in college and studied languages and communications, and pursued a career that I thought would make me feel fulfilled in a way that I assumed all people who got full-time jobs with professional sounding titles would be. While I did teach dance on the side and play music at some bars here and there, it wasn’t until I was nearing my 30’s that creativity became my profession, and I’ve never felt more full of energy and passion since opening myself up to the possibilities that come with being true to myself and my nature.

What started as me illustrating and sharing portraits of my friends and family for the joy of it, organically became an unexpected source of income. I started to extend my body of work beyond portraits, and began to design prints in a variety of styles. I let my creativity fly with goddesses and mermaids and abstracts and landscapes and my work became as varied as my interests. I started illustrating the abstract way that I see people in my head, and called it the ‘essence of you’ series. It was fun for my clients and life giving for me.

I officially registered Haley McMillan Creative Studio as a business in 2022. I do everything from digital art to acrylics on canvas to backdrop design and installation and custom illustration. Most recently, I wrote a novel, which is being published in April 2023. Writing is the next stage of my professional career as a creative, and I am more fulfilled than ever. I just can’t stop writing books now that I’ve started. I remind anyone who will listen that they don’t have to be just one thing. You can be ALL the things that feel good in your bones, and as long as you’re finding joy in the process, you’ve already won the only prize worth winning.

Allowing myself to let go of unhelpful judgments, expectations, limitations, and labels, and to create from the heart and soul with joy and confidence has undoubtedly made me and the work I produce better, more authentic, and more abundant. In trusting my creative impulses and giving myself plenty of space to do what feels natural, I have become a version of myself that would make the five-year-old Haley proud.

My creative endeavors are for me as much as they are for my clients. I hope that in creating with an open heart, I give others permission to do the same. Ditch your labels. Forget your end goal. Make something if you want to make something, and enjoy the process.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My only goal and mission is to enjoy the process of creating. Everything that results from that–money, recognition, whatever it might be–comes as a bonus. With every painting I paint or book I write, I hope to explore a more authentic version of myself, and perhaps, if I’m lucky, have something to share that is inspirational or meaningful for the consumer of my work.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I didn’t always create from a place of abundance. I didn’t know that it wasn’t necessary for my to ‘like’ everything I created. I used to avoid making art if I didn’t have a plan in place before I started, and I would feel frustrated when things didn’t turn out how I envisioned them. I felt like I was wasting art supplies if my work wasn’t perfect, and therefore, I made less art. My process is much simpler now. I just let the paint brush or Apple pencil fly. I adjust my lenses. And my work is better for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.haleymcmillancreative.com
• Instagram: @haley.mcmillan.creative.studio
• Other: www.haleymcmillan.com

Image Credits
Lindsey Harper Photography