Behrens was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1933. He grew up near Washington, DC.[2] He began drawing at age seventeen after being confined to bed following a sledding accident.[citation needed] His formal education in art was at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he earned a master’s degree in painting and sculpture. Behrens was hired by the United States Government Printing Office, where his father was employed as a printer, and worked there for the next seventeen years.[3] Behrens resided in Potomac, Maryland and died on April 14, 2014 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.