David Gordon Hughes was born in Belfast in 1957. Although receiving no formal artistic training in his youth, he was greatly influenced by the early 20th century Irish and European artists such as Van Gogh, Jack B. Yeats, Monet and Gerard Dillon. When he exhibited his work, it was met with immediate acclaim and he has been a regular exhibitor at the Royal Ulster Academy in Belfast, and has also exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy.