The Artist
David Goatley was born in London, England, in 1954, the son of a commercial artist. Even as a child he loved to draw and what he liked to draw most was people. After his early training at Londons Camberwell School of Art, where he majored in painting, David followed his father into advertising- first as an illustrator later as an art director and copywriter, finally becoming a founding partner in a successful ad. agency.

Although financially rewarding, advertising proved creatively unsatisfying and the need to paint became something he had to pursue at any cost. Encouraged by his wife, the painter Deborah Tilby, David first folded his business, then sold their home to free him to realise his ambition. The couple and their two children , Ry and Sasha, relocated to Victoria BC in 1992.

Working in Canada, the US and England, David has seen his career grow in leaps and bounds. Robert Bateman called him: 'a truly fine painter in the Sargent style who works with confidence and grace and a true respect for the quality of the paint.' The reviewer of The Canadian Portrait Academy's inaugral exhibition wrote: 'he accomplishes more in one brush stroke than many painters do in ten' Another west coast critic has called him 'one of our finest portrait painters'.

It's a reputation that has led to over 150 portrait commissions in the past 10 years and an increasing demand for his work across North America. Sitters have included: The Hon. Gilbert Parent, Speaker of the House of Commons, Hon. Jeremy Gotch Sheriff of London, Tenor Richard Margison OC, painters Ted Harrison OC and Robert Bateman OC, folk singer Valdy, ICBC Chairman Nick Geer and many others from the corporate and family worlds.

In addition to his portraiture, David is a noted painter of religious and genre scenes. He also shares his passion for painting in the classes and workshops he teaches throughout the year.

A founding member of The Canadian Institute of Portrait Artists , David has been showcased in International Artist Magazine three times and will be the subject of a forthcoming feature article. He is also a member of the Portrait Society of America and was honoured to be elected an SFCA in 2002.

David has had five solo exhibitions over the past 12 years and participated in numerous group shows, although, as a portrait painter, much of his work is commissioned, so finding the time to create works for exhibition can be a bit of a challenge!

He is currently represented by Portrait Brokers of America, The Portrait Group, Potraits North and Portraits by Artists Inc. in the US and by Fine Art Commissions Ltd in the UK.

Biography, testimonials, and contact information

The Art
David Goatley has incorporated many elements from historic Chemainus area photographs - the Post Office itself, period postcards and stamps, a telegram of condolence, the Postmaster, a soldier from the Canadian Postal Corps, the field Post Office, and so on - to these Mr. Goatley has added a mother and daughter from the home front, a civilian Postman on his bike, a Battleship from the Royal Navy [representing convoy escort, taking the post and troops overseas], soldiers ‘going over the top’ on the Somme and, inset, Brigadier General Arthur Currie and fellow officers atop Vimy Ridge, representing Canada’s defining moment in the Great War, plus of course, two Flanders Poppies, the enduringly symbol of the whole tragedy and our remembrance of it.