Stephen McMillan

Throughout his life, Steve McMillan has been inspired and sustained by the natural world and has spent much of his time outside. Whether it's a bike ride in the Sonoma countryside, or a week-long backpacking trip in the High Sierra, he is renewed and invigorated by being in and moving through landscape. It is this sense of renewal that he seeks to share with others. Born in Berkeley, California, Stephen was raised in a home that had a sweeping view of the San Francisco Bay. This scene kindled his interest in landscape and was one of his earliest drawing subjects. He had his first one man show when he was sixteen. McMillan studied at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and for one year at Hornsey College of Art in London, England, where he concentrated on sculpture. It was at Santa Cruz, in 1969, that Steve was first introduced to etching. Since he received his BFA from UCSC in 1975, he has focused on creating aquatint etchings of wilderness landscapes, drawn freehand from photographs he takes.