David is a self-taught painter and draughtsman. In his approach to fine art portrait painting, he views the whole picture first as a construction of abstract qualities—colour, shape, tone—on the picture plane in order to communicate an overall sense, rather than to focus on a single subject or object. He uses representation to draw the viewer into the poetic world of the painting. In creating this believable world, he encourages us to look beyond the objective, towards the subjective inner workings of the mind.

David has spent much of his time studying traditional painting, from the renaissance to the early 20th century, and this knowledge underpins his work. He has worked as a painting and drawing tutor, and he has work in the Wallace Art Collection. He has been selected to exhibit in the Adam Portrait Awards three times and has been a finalist twice, including with his Portrait of Esther Deans. Pictured left is his self-portrait.