David was born in 1954, and has been drawing and painting since early childhood.

He trained at Northampton and Liverpool Schools of Art and travelled around Europe and the Far East, living in Japan for almost ten years before settling with his young family in Bath. For a number of years he worked as an illustrator, but gradually painting took the place of illustration.

In 1996 he set up Bath Artists' Studios (formerly Widcombe Studios) in what used to be a Victorian infants' school. The Studios provides affordable studio space, art classes, talks and exhibitions, and he still has a studio there. In 1997 he was elected a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, and served as its Honorary Secretary for four years.

Among his commissions to date are The Princess Royal, and in 2004 his portrait of Ken Dodd OBE was bought by the National Portrait Gallery, London for its permanent collection. He regularly exhibits at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and his paintings are in demand throughout the UK, as well as in South Africa and the USA. He has held solo exhibitions in Bath, London and Tokyo, and won numerous prizes for his work.