Gary McMillan attended the University of Calgary in 1978 to 1980, studying science and fine-art. He exhibited paintings of Alberta landscape throughout the 1980’s, and then attended Alberta College of Art and Design from 1989 to 1991. Holding a double major in painting and printmaking, he received a Diploma with Distinction in 1991. He returned to exhibiting landscape paintings until 2003. Employing the use of the human figure and landscape, he currently produces themed series of paintings infused with the absurd.