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 includes 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 liquin is used as a varnish to protect the finished painting
without altering the sheen or texture.
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
Born in Kansas in 1954, Paul was raised in Texas. Paul's
professional 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, where he currently resides.