Quincy artist Dawn McMillan was born in Coral Gables where her grandparents were early pioneers. Having arrived in Miami in 1911 they were the developers of Palm Island, the Little River Community and the Busch subdivision on the northern edge of Coral Gables. They built and sold Al Capone his home on Palm Island and gave the land and equipment to build the first hospital for African-Americans in downtown Miami.

Dawn moved to Tallahassee in 1971 to attend Florida State University and after spending her first week in north Florida swimming in sinkholes and picking blueberries in the Apalachicola National forest, decided she would never live in south Florida again. In 1979 she received her Masters Degree in Fine Arts from FSU with an emphasis in printmaking and drawing and has maintained a studio ever since. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Florida House of Representatives, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Building, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Tallahasssee City Hall. She is a past recipient of a Florida Individual Artist's Fellowship and has worked as a graphic designer for the University and the Department of Community Affairs for 30 years.

Dawn first began painting awards for 1000 Friends of Florida's inaugural reception in 1987. "I probably never would have painted in watercolor if it had not been for this opportunity," said McMillan, who has taught watercolor painting at FSU and now teaches at the Gadsden Arts Center in Quincy. "Watercolor is a very difficult medium and takes years to master. While I don't consider myself a master, I feel like I learn something new with every award that I paint for 1000 Friends."

Dawn McMillan's other artworks, large pastel drawings, use shadow and light to create an evocative atmosphere. Of Norwegian descent, she has traveled to Scandanavia and Northern Europe several times to study the work of the masters of light and shadow. Her work is both figurative and narrative and incorporates the architecture and scenery unique to Florida.

Her early drawings were of Art Deco buildings in Miami Beach shortly after the area was designated a National Register Historic District. Her current series of drawings are from photographs taken by the artist's mother of 1930s era Miami, many of family friend Mike Osceola, son of Miccosukee Indian chief William McKinley Osceola. "Mike was a close friend of my family, they tutored him at our house so he could get his high school diploma. My sister and brother used to do their homework with him,' said McMillan. "I have always been fascinated by Florida history, architecture and folklore-the inspiration for my artwork. It's being erased every day, I want to capture it before it's gone."

Dawn lives with her husband, sculptor Leo McMillan, in Quincy, Florida where they are restoring two houses built in 1900. Her son Daniel is majoring in economics at Florida State University.