Stephen McMillan - prints and biography
Contemporary Landscape Prints of the American West
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 200
Year: 2019
Image Size: 4 x 6 inches
Vibrant alpine wildflowers against a rugged mountain peak.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 100
Year: 2025
Image Size: 12 × 9 inches
A study of the varied hues found in alpine flora and geological strata.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 200
Year: 2020
ImageSize: 11 x 8 inches
In Colors, Stephen McMillan captures the fleeting brilliance of autumn in the Pacific Northwest. The composition is a close study of Japanese maple leaves, their serrated edges and layered forms in a color palette that shifts from green to gold to deep crimson.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 120
Year: 2022
ImageSize: 9 x 12 inches
A vibrant study of coastal flora against the Pacific horizon.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2017
ImageSize: 9 x 12 inches
Hills west of San Joaquin Valley, California.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2021
ImageSize: 12 x 9 inches
Lily pads on Lake Terrell, near Ferndale in Washington. Signed titled and numbered by the artist.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 120
Year: 2023
ImageSize: 4 x 5 inches
West from Cypress Island, Washington
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 1997
ImageSize: 12 x 18 inches
Trees reflecting in creek
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint with à la poupée
Year: 2023
Edition of 120
Image Size: 24 x 18
A rhythmic study of twisting cypress forms along a coastal path.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 200
Year: 2019
ImageSize: 9 x 12 inches
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 250
Year: 2019
ImageSize: 12 x 9 inches
A forest path glowing with fall foliage.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 250
Year: 2007
ImageSize: 18 x 12 inches
A tonal study of winter silence and the texture of snow-covered ground.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2021
ImageSize: 4.9 x 7.8 inches
Edition: 120
A poetic study of moisture and light filtering through a coastal forest.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 200
Year: 2020
Image Size: 18 x 12 inches
Color etching of sunlit rural landscape in warm summer light.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 200
Year: 2020
Image Size: 18 x 12 inches
Etching of snow-covered trees in soft morning light
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2019
Image Size: 9 x 6 inches
An abstracted view of a harbor scene captured through shifting reflections on water. Vertical bands of color—blues, whites, charcoal blacks, and a striking accent of red and gold—are distorted into wavering lines, suggesting boats, masts, and dockside structures seen through rippling light.
McMillan’s layered approach transforms a familiar maritime subject into a rhythmic composition, where reflection becomes the primary image rather than the object reflected. The surface feels animated and fluid, evoking movement, sound, and the subtle instability of water. The result is a quietly dynamic work that balances abstraction with place, inviting prolonged viewing and interpretation.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 120
Year: 2018
Image Size: 12 x 9 inches
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2018
Image Size: 6 x 9 inches
Reflection of rain drops reflecting in the canals of Burano, Italy.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2018
Image Size: 9 x 12 inches
Edition of 120
Completed during three month period in Venice, Italy.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 1997
Image Size: 8 x 16 inches
Yellow flowers in a vineyard, southwest Napa Valley, Napa County, California.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2018
Image Size: 6 x 4 inches
Color etching of rolling coastal hills covered in spring bloom
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2018
Image Size: 4 x 6 inches
Reflections in Venetian canal with vivid red tones. Completed during three month period in Venice, Italy.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2018
Image Size: 4 x 6 inches
Water reflections from Burano, Italy.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2018
Image Size: 4 x 6 inches
Water reflections from Burano, Italy.
Stephen McMillan
Biography
Stephen McMillan, born in 1949 in Berkeley, California, is an American printmaker known for his masterful aquatint etchings that explore the quiet presence of natural landscapes. Raised with expansive views of the San Francisco Bay, McMillan developed an early and enduring connection to the natural world, which has remained central to his artistic practice.
Working primarily in aquatint etching, McMillan draws freehand from photographs he takes during extended explorations of wilderness areas, particularly in California and Washington. His contemplative approach is similar with other artists on this site such as Micah Schwaberow.
McMillan earned his B.F.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1975, after first being introduced to etching in 1969. He later studied sculpture at Hornsey College of Art in London
Throughout his career, McMillan has remained deeply involved in the printmaking community. He worked at the Graphic Arts Workshop in San Francisco from 1975 to 1979 and later served as an artist-in-residence at the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley from 1979 to 1992, where he taught printmaking and authored technical articles on aquatint etching.
McMillan’s work is held in numerous public and private collections, reflecting a sustained contribution to contemporary American printmaking. His images offer a measured, attentive vision of the landscape, inviting viewers into moments of quiet observation and reflection.
Public Collections Featuring Works by Stephen McMillan
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York
Houses The Slot #8 (1983), an aquatint etching that exemplifies McMillan's precision and atmospheric depth. Brooklyn Museum+1missiongalleryart.com+1Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon
Includes McMillan's works in its collection, highlighting his contributions to contemporary printmaking.Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, California
Features pieces like Monterey Cypress, reflecting McMillan's connection to Californian landscapes.
Narrative Landscape
Artists who use landscape as a stage for memory, migration, and symbolic storytelling.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 200
Year: 2020
ImageSize: 12 x 9 inches
A detailed study of autumn leaves and reflections in moving water.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2017
Image Size: 9 x 6 inches
Color etching of hillside covered in blooming spring wildflowers.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 200
Year: 2019
Image Size: 9 x 6 inches
Aquatint etching of falling snow over quiet winter landscape.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2003
Image Size: 24 x 16 inches
Southern wall of Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California.
“A steady rain pelted our tent through the night. That morning a mist hung over the steep cliffs of Yosemite Valley. Gradually the skies cleared allowing the forested slopes above to reveal their splendor.”
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 250
Year: 1999
Vibrant fall landscape in a vineyard with rich seasonal color.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2021
Edition of 120
ImageSize: 12 x 18 inches
A gentle fog descending on Lake Whatcon on a December morning. showing contemplative landscape by Stephen McMillan, created using etching and aquatint. The composition depicts a quiet December morning at Lake Whatcom, where bare trees dissolve into soft fog and are mirrored in still water below.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 1992
Edition of 200
ImageSize: 6 x 11 inches
Color etching of desert landscape with ocotillo branches against distant mountains.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2016
Image Size: 4 x 16 inches
Aquatint etching of snowy alpine landscape with distant peaks.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2008
ImageSize: 9.2 x 17 inches
Etching of twin mountain peaks in atmospheric light.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Year: 2009
Image Size: 5.8 x 19 inches
Mt Hood, seen from the slopes of Mt Rainier, Mt Rainier National Park, WA.
Mt Hood is some 100 miles distant, rising above the ridges of the intervening mountains.
By: Stephen McMillan
Medium: etching and aquatint
Edition of 50
Year: 2025
ImageSize: 9 × 12 inches
Spectacular view of Mt Shasta as seen from the Trinity Wilderness in northern California. Soft evening light as the sunset fades leaving mountain ridges highlighted.