Gary John Melançon was born in LaRose Louisiana, a small town along Bayou Lafourche in South Louisiana. He comes from a large family of artisans, each working with various forms of art. Being exposed to art at a young age, he grew up learning the value of creative expression.
After leaving Louisiana to pursue an education and career, he traveled throughout the United States exploring history, culture, and art. His interest in portraiture stemmed from an introduction to the paintings of John Singer Sargent. After studying at Institutions like the Corcoran School of Art in Washington DC, The Art Students League in New York, and The Department of Fine Arts at the University of Maryland, he has developed a style of painting reminiscent of the portrait masters during the turn of the century. He has also studied with such well-known portrait artists as Robert Bruce Williams, John Howard Sanden, Everett Raymond Kinstler, and Richard Schmid.
After spending years painting in the studio of Robert Bruce Williams and studying paintings of John Singer Sargent, Robert Henri, Mary Cassatt, Anders Zorn, and Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Gary John Melançon has left Washington DC to open a studio in historic downtown Charleston. With the beauty of the Holy City surrounding him, there is much to paint and explore.