Over the past thirty-five years, I have had five studios in New Jersey, Brooklyn, and Queens. For the past seven years, I’ve maintained a studio in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. I draw from life—from direct observation and from experience. I do countless drawings and oil sketches as I set out the concept for a painting. I…

“Learning to get comfortable with not knowing is one of the last stages of an artist’s development. That’s how you start to develop the habit of questioning and seeking, which can propel and sustain you outside the classroom.”

Two portraits by Costa Vavagiakis are now on view in Making Faces, an exhibition of self-portraits and portraits of others, at the Salena Gallery.