Paul McMillan

 Biography

Paul McMillan is a self-taught artist best known for his landscapes and still life paintings. Paul's style ranges from classical to abstract and occasionally included his original poetry and music as subject matter. His artwork is strong in light, shadow and atmosphere, with deep, rich colors. Most of Paul's paintings are created with a wet color technique, using stand oil mixed with small amounts of beeswax and mastic resin as a medium. This adds to the depth and luminosity of pigments and works well for both impasto and smooth surfaces. A very thin coat of varnish is used as a to protect the finished painting without altering the sheen or texture. Many of the frames for his paintings are made from scratch and are hand carved and guild.

 

Paul is also an accomplished sculptor specializing in portraiture and the human form. Having a flair for detail a number of fine quality rings and jewelry have been commissioned.

 

Music is an on going interest that has lead Paul to composing approximately twenty musical compositions having words and music (songs) the classical guitar is the instrument of his choice. One of the major pursuits of artist Paul McMillan is to include his original written words and music in to his still life paintings as subject matter.

 

The written word is a medium in which Paul has accomplished several dozen poems. Paul is the author of a book titled "Last Painter Leaves Martyrs' Lane which is now finished.

 

Paul is a 1972 graduate of Graford High School in Graford, Texas. He began pursuing art as a profession in 1978 and has received numerous awards, including:

1986 -- Texas State Sesquicentennial Artist of the Year Contest, runner-up
1986 -- Texas Sesquicentennial Bell Telephone Cover Contest, Finalist

1995 -- Best of Show at Taos Spring Arts
1999 -- Second Overall, "25th Anniversary Taos Fall Arts Festival," Taos, NM
2001 -- First Place, "20th Annual Art Exhibit," Lewisburg Festival of The Arts, Lewisburg, PA

2011 -- Jurors Choice, "Halo Exhibit" Pittsburgh Society of Artists, Pittsburgh, PA

2011 -- Peoples Chioce, "Westmoreland Art Nationals," Latrobe, PA

2011 -- Merit Award "Hoyt Mid Atlantic Juried Exhibition, New Castle, PA

 

Born in Kansas in 1954, Paul was raised in Texas. Paul's professional art career began in the late 1970s in central Texas. Inspired by the beauty of the Southwest, Paul moved to Taos, New Mexico in 1988 to explore the region's artistic possibilities. Paul took an apartment amongst fellow working artists on Martyr's Lane in the historic district of Taos in 1989, where he lived and worked for ten years. He was the last painter to leave Martyr's Lane in August of 1999. Paul subsequently lived in La Mesilla, New Mexico; Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and Glen Rose, Texas before moving to Ithaca, New York and starting the McMillan Art Center. Paul now lives in the beautiful city of Pittsburgh PA.