About the Artist

Biography

Stephen David Mills is an artist who specializes in acrylics and oils. Stevie is a life-long resident of West Hartford, Connecticut, and spends his summers in New Hampshire. His painted work is a reflection of his lifelong appreciation of the landscape and of nature. He received three Scholastic Awards in 2014 for Best In Film and Animation for Connecticut, and Honorable Mentions for both Painting and Film and Animation. Stevie is presently pursuing his degree at the Hartford Art School. He also maintains an interest in the history of the visual arts, primarily focusing on artistic trends in painting, animation, and film.

A Statement from the Artist

My work is the result of the contemplation of nature and the evaluation of our connection with it. By understanding the essence of nature, we become more aware of our relation to the world. I am greatly influenced by the work of the transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. They keenly understood the grandeur and beauty of nature and revered it as a direct source of spiritual understanding. I am influenced by the artists of the Hudson River School, such as Frederic Church, and by the American oil painters Winslow Homer, Childe Hassam, and Edward Hopper. Each of these artists sought to understand our relationship to our environment and how to represent the meaning of this relation visually. In each compositional element, and in each choice of color and value in my paintings, there is an aim to reflect the beauty of nature and the emotive response to it. My intention is to create works that reflect the beauty of the natural world, so that the viewer will feel that connection too, for the sake of their own happiness and appreciation.

Timeline of Events and Awards

2020: Stevie won the Best Student award for the May 2020 PleinAir Salon with his oil piece Kalmia Gardens.

2018: Stevie won the Best Student award for the February/ March 2018 PleinAir Salon with his oil painting Kalmia. The painting appeared in the June-July edition of Plein Air Magazine.

2017: Stevie was the Conard High School Artist of the Month for September

2016: Best in Show, Easels in Frederick MD, Quick Draw Competition Youth Division

2015: Best in Show, Easels in Frederick MD, Quick Draw Competition Youth Division Plein Air Painting Contest

2014: Scholastic Arts, Best in Film and Animation for Connecticut, Honorable Mention for Film and Animation, and Honorable Mention for Painting.

2010: Stevie was a judge for Sengifted Kids’ Film Contest.

2009: Stevie was written about in the Griswold Museum Blog

2009 Show at Capitol Community College

2008: Stephen Mills's painting appears on the cover of It's All In Your Head by PJ Langhoff.

2008: Featured on the Hartford Public Access Television show Viva Hartford.

2008: One Person Show, Young Studios in Hartford, CT

2006: His painting, Poinsettias, was chosen to be represented on holiday cards for the Children's Medical Center's Holiday fundraiser in Hartford, CT.

2006: Stephen's paintings adorned the walls of the CRT gallery in Hartford for the "Big Time Saver" kick-off ceremony, an animated short, which appeared on Fox TV and Comcast.

2006: Stephen had a one person art show at the Peterborough Art Academy and Gallery in Peterborough, NH.

2006: Stephen sold prints of his painting, Flowers on Water and presented a live painting demonstration at Borders Books and Music to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims.

2005: His works were on display at CRT in Hartford as part of a two-person art show entitled Strokes of Genius. Fox News showed the event on their evening news and the Hartford Courant interviewed Stephen for an article on the event.

2005: Six-year-old Stephen exhibited his acrylic paintings as part of a three-generation art show with his mother and grandmother in the West Hartford, CT, Public Library.

2005: Stephen received The Connecticut Renewal Team's National Arts Program Award. At the time Stephen was the youngest person in Connecticut to ever receive this award.