David Templeton was born in 1947 in Nottinghamshire, England. His interest in art became apparent when he completed a 22ft long plasticine snake at the age of just 4 years old.  He proceeded to study at Leeds College of Art between the influential years of 1967 to 1970. Following his studies, he became a Professor of Art and taught in Cambridge (England) before leaving the UK in the late 1970s to travel around Europe. He did not return to the UK,  instead choosing to settle in the small picturesque mountain village of Deià (Mallorca, Spain). Inspired by the more celebrated Renaissance painters, Michelangelo, Raphael and Boticelli ,Templeton studied figurative painting for many years. He remains drawn more to working in pastel and pencil teaching privately to this day at his studio in Deià. A great deal of his work remains inspired by impressionists Lautrec , Van Gogh and Cézanne as well as 20th Century masters Matisse, Picasso and Schiele.

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“I combine figurative imagery with seemingly abstract/collage elements...For me, collage is an aesthetic discipline with it's own intrinsic laws and constraints which I am constantly exploring and mapping out. This has led to an increase in scale and more elaborate configurations of colour and form. I usually start a collage work with a specific theme and basic composition but this is often transformed into something unexpected. Here, on a conscious level I am only aware of the more obvious aspects of the image. It is then that I find myself surrendering to my subconscious impulses and instincts, which guide me to the completion of the piece.”Inspirations for his collage work include Kurt Schwitters , Ernst and Rauschenberg, Private commissions he has undertaken include a large painting of the Pa amb Oli band in 2006 for Baron Andrew Lloyd Webber.

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A number of well-known people have invested in a painting or drawing by David Templeton, including Michael Douglas, Bob Geldof, Spike Milligan, Pierce Brosnan, David Thewless, Anna Friel and members of The Corrs.