by Jake Dale / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
July 13, 2026

In a cavernous attic studio stands Squire Robinson. 

Next to him on the ground is an unfinished painting of his. Hung above him are numerous paintings that he’s finished in the past year.

The walls are filled with works of art, crafted by the various artists who also call 100% MKE, a nonprofit arts studio and workspace at 217 N. Broadway, home. 

Robinson’s art doesn’t just stand among them – it stands out.

Maybe it’s the saturated reds that prevail in each of his pieces.

Maybe it’s the bold strokes that create the even bolder figures that call his paintings home.

Either way, Robinson’s art has a tangible effect for those with the eyes to see.

“Sometimes the most important piece of art is that you feel. His art makes you feel,” Richard Badger Jr. said. Badger, who goes by the artist name Coyote Rich, is also an artist in residence at 100% MKE.

Robinson first fell in love with art through his grandfather, who painted signs for corner stores. Early memories of drawing contests with his grandfather enchanted Squire into the art world. 

Later, Robinson drew comics and superhero characters, foreshadowing the powerful figures he paints today. 

“My style has always been there, it’s just evolution, it grows and changes,” Robinson said. 

Robinson, a 2024 graduate of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, has always had a certain fascination with Renaissance-era paintings.

Yet despite his appreciation of the style, something was missing. 

“I appreciated the technique and skill, but I just couldn’t really relate to it,” Robinson said. 

For him, the lack of diversity made the style feel distant.

Black culture in art

Now, Robinson’s style flows through the powerful Black people he paints. 

“I took some of that flavor and remixed it to something that is more me,” Robinson said. “My inspiration comes from Black culture, music and my dreams.”

Robinson’s own personality is vehemently present in each of his pieces. 

“His art has a very strong personality behind it,” said Nelle Speerschneider, a co-founding board member of 100% MKE.

By the end of a lengthy creative process, Robinson’s pieces are saturated with color and shapes that make viewers stop and stare. For Robinson, that’s the goal. 

“To me, good art is when you can just stare at it and sit with it and think,” Robinson said. “If you see my work and walk right past it, then I didn’t do something right.”

Music and the flow state

Robinson said when he is met with a blank canvas, he doesn’t begin with a person or a setting; he starts with the mood. Then, with the help of music, he lets his art flow. 

“I don’t try to contain the style, it’s just all me,” Robinson said.

Music is a big deal for Robinson. So much so that he can’t paint without it. Robinson’s taste in music, from classical and jazz to his love for Kendrick Lamar, seeps into his art. 

“Squire’s art makes me feel like music,” Badger said. 

Robinson said music helps him loosen up and get out of a funk. 

“It helps me escape and enter that flow state,” Robinson said. 

He said music supports his ethereal creative process. 

“Sometimes when I paint, I feel like I’m being guided by something higher than me,” Robinson said.

Milwaukee made

As a young figure in the Milwaukee art scene, Robinson wears the city on his sleeve. 

“Growing up in Milwaukee made me hard in the sense of staying true to myself,” Robinson said. 

At 100% MKE, Robinson offers a unique voice. “It’s nice to have his youthful and urban take in the studio,” Speerschneider said. 

Badger said young artists like Robinson are vital for pushing the scene forward. 

“They’re the driving force of what Milwaukee looks and feels like,” he said.

Future goals

Going forward, Robinson wants to become an art therapist, someone who uses the medium of art to process emotional challenges. 

“Art has always been a way to self-express and get my own feelings out,” Robinson said. “That’s why the tone of my paintings matters the most, because those feelings are what I’m trying to evoke.”

As for his art career, Robinson says his finest work is yet to come. 

“I haven’t created my best one yet.”

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

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by Milwaukee NNS Reader Submission, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
July 13, 2026

Editor’s note: Post From Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.

By Matthew Filipowicz, Laughing Liberally Milwaukee

Laughing Liberally Milwaukee
Saturday August 8, 2026, 8 p.m., $8
CSZ Milwaukee – 420 South 1st Street, Milwaukee, WI

With right wing attacks on LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, voting rights, immigrants and more, we need progressive laughs now more than ever. That’s why we’re excited to present Laughing Liberally Milwaukee, a monthly progressive political comedy show featuring Milwaukee’s top liberal and progressive comedians.

Laughing Liberally Milwaukee is hosted by comedian, cartoonist and satirist Matthew Filipowicz. Matthew’s work has been featured by CNN, NPR, PBS, HBO, BBC, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, the Nation, the London Times, Ain’t It Cool News, and the Huffington Post. Matthew also hosts the creatively titled Laughing Liberally Milwaukee Podcast.

Comedians on the August 8th bill include Dana Ehrmann, Tony Castro, Gemini The Savage, John McCombs and sketch comedy troupe The Accountants Of Homeland Security

In addition to some of the finest progressive comedians Milwaukee has to offer, each Laughing Liberally Milwaukee features a special interview with a local activist, journalist, or political figure.

This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://milwaukeenns.org/2026/07/13/post-from-community-laughing-liberally-milwaukee-11/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://milwaukeenns.org”>Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-NNS-Favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>

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The Brewers drafted 20 players over the course of 20 rounds in the 2026 MLB Draft, including first-round shortstop Trey Ebel, second-round outfielder Sawyer Strosnider, Wilmot Union HS (Wisconsin) shortstop Chance Ruby, and CC Sabathia’s son, first baseman Carsten Sabathia III. The team now has until 4 p.m. CT on July 27 to sign each draft pick. We’ll keep track of the signees below.

Milwaukee’s total signing bonus pool is $8,042,900, which can be allocated as the team chooses (i.e., slot bonuses are not the guaranteed signing value). Rounds 11-20 automatically have $150,000 allocated to the slot — money given to these picks only counts toward the bonus pool if they exceed $150,000. Teams that exceed their bonus pool face financial penalties, with higher thresholds resulting in the loss of future picks.