Ernest McMullen grew up in the small town of Vanport on the banks of the Ohio River in Western Pa. His earliest memories are of the atmospheric light and panoramic sweep of the river as it cut through the foothills. This landscape, with its luminous vistas and mysterious, ever-changing moods, etched itself into his consciousness and profoundly shaped him as an artist. After high school, he spent four years as an electronic warfare specialist in the USAF, primarily in the culturally rich city of Wuerzburg, W. Germany, the location of the worlds largest fresco, Tieopolo's magnificent 'Apollo and the Continents.' Gazing up at Tieopolo's majestic light-filled sky, he determined to devote his life to painting.

 

Following his time in the military, he studied at the University of Maryland, the Portland Museum School, and Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. He moved to Down East Maine to set up a studio in 1968. Before he was able to devote himself exclusively to painting, his passion for landscape in all its aspects led to a number of published projects in solar architecture, landscape design, and architectural scale garden vessels. In 2001 he was chosen by Richard Estes to show alongside of him in the Maine Center for Contemporary Arts' 50th anniversary show. He is a founding member of the Arts and Design faculty at College of the Atlantic.