Born and raised in Bethesda, Maryland, Gavin Glakas has always had an artistic streak; he has always said that he began drawing at around the same he started walking. Skilled from the very start, Glakas studied under the renowned artist Walt Bartman while in high school before earning a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art with a concentration in painting from Washington University in St. Louis. He then attended the world-renowned Slade Institute of Fine Art in London, where he became deeply involved in an intensive figure-painting program. After graduating, Glakas spent a year working as an illustrator in Greece before he decided it was time to return to the “real world.”

Glakas returned to the United States and worked as a Senate staffer on Capitol Hill and planned on going to law school, but when severe health issues derailed his plans after a year and a half, he realized that life is short and he wanted to spent it doing what he loved. Glakas returned to painting and quickly began showing his art in galleries while simultaneously studying under Robert Liberace and Danni Dawson at The Art League in Alexandria, Virginia. Since then, he has been remarkably well-received, earning numerous awards and honors for his paintings, including ones from the Portrait Society of America and the Butler Institute of American Art. Glakas’ creations can be found in countless private and corporate collections, including those of Georgetown University and the Capitol Building. He currently lived and works in Maryland, teaching figure painting and drawing and creating more of his remarkable paintings.