As a youngster McGlynn joined the Columbia Park Boys Club where he illustrated the club's magazine with woodblock prints in the Art-Nouveau-style of the era. At age thirteen he was trapped beneath a pile of lumber which crushed his back and limited him to crutches and canes for the rest of his life. Undeterred, he pursued a career as an artist. Awarded a full scholarship in 1899, he studied at San Francisco’s California School of Design. Here he formed a lasting friendship with the School’s director, Arthur Mathews, eventually becoming chief designer for the prestigious Arthur & Lucia Mathew’s Furniture Shop from 1906-1918. McGlynn taught art for 27 years in San Francisco schools and for a short time, at UC Berkeley. In 1938 he relocated to Pebble Beach where he built a home and studio. That same year he was notified of his unanimous vote into the Carmel Art Association by President Armin Hansen, also a 1906 California School of Design graduate. McGlynn remained in Pebble Beach until his death in 1966, leaving behind a legacy of Impressionist landscapes that captured the unique light of the Pacific Coast with pure and radiant color.