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David awarded Signature Status
by the
Portrait Society of America

January 2022: David has been awarded Signature Status by the Portrait Society of America! "I feel very honoured to be included in this group of exceptional portrait artists - I will do by best to live up to this recognition and look forward to celebrating at the convention in Atlanta, Georgia this spring."          

EAST and WEST show at The Union Club 

June 1 - July 31, 2022 at the historic Union Club of British Columbia this exhibition explores our common humanity through acute observations of other cultures and all that binds us as a human family. 

David’s vibrant scenes of street life in the west are contrasted with the vivid colours of the East - India’s packed towns and cities - while his portraits  of individuals give us people we feel we can know and identify with. 

To see the catalogue click here.

David Goatley’s portrait of His Royal Highness Dr. Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, the 11th Emir of Bauchi, was unveiled at the Palace in Bauchi, Nigeria in July.

David was commissioned to paint the Emir just as COVID travel restrictions came into effect, which necessitated that he art direct two professional photographers. HRH preferred the throne room as the ideal location and David worked with the photographers on lighting, poses and all the minutia required to get just the right source images. The painting was completed in David’s studio before making it’s multi-flight journey to Nigeria where 4 Nigerian artisans hand carved and gilded a frame fit for a king.

Unveiling of official portrait of Glenn Feltham, President of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)

This portrait was a real journey of discovery for me. I had no idea what a powerhouse of research and development this amazing institution was until I went there to meet Dr. Feltham. A day with this wonderfully warm and engaging man, touring the campus he is so proud of, was truly eye-opening. NAIT has incredible capabilities in simulation and modelling in fields as diverse as medicine, engineering, energy and manufacturing. They can model everything from a front-line field hospital to a factory assembly line.

In my portrait, I sought to capture both Dr. Feltham's personality and his pride in the institution he led through a period of massive growth and development. It was a privilege to paint him and a real thrill to see the campus and learn just a little of what they are doing there.

Unveiling of Premier Jim Prentice's Official Portrait

David was honoured to attend the unveiling of his official portrait of former Alberta Premier Jim Prentice at the Alberta Legislature. For those not familiar with the Canadian political system, a Premier is the equivalent postion to Governor in the USA. This is David's second official portrait of a Premier.

After choosing David as the official portrait artist, and after initial discussions, Mr. Prentice and David decided the portrait would be painted from life. Unfortunately this was not to be as Mr. Prentice was in a fatal plane crash shortly before his first sitting.

Working with the Prentice family, David worked with government and family photographs, a body double and his own photographs of the famous marbled halls of the Alberta Legislature to create a portrait fulfilling the ideas that had been discussed during telephone conversations with Mr. Prentice.

Short Biography

David Goatley is considered one of North America’s foremost portrait painters. He has been awarded Signature Member status by the Portrait Society of America and the Federation of Canadian Artists.

He was born in London, England in 1954 and emigrated to Canada’s west coast in 1992.

David studied painting at London’s Camberwell School of Art before embarking on a successful 16 year advertising career. Whilst advertising did not prove creatively satisfying (the need to paint was never far away) it did give him a taste for hard work, imaginative solutions, and the strong sense of design that has helped make his paintings immediately recognizable. Each of his portraits is as distinct as the individuals in them, capturing the personality and life in his subjects with real feeling. To stand in front of one his portraits is to experience meeting the subject.

It is a skill that has led to over 420 commissions thus far, across Canada, the UK and 24 states of the USA as well as in Israel, Panama, Spain and India. His subjects have included Princes, a Peer, a Prime Minister, Provincial Premiers, five Lt. Governors, First Nations Chiefs and Elders, a Bishop and leaders in Business, Academia, the Arts and the Law as well as numerous families. His work is included in 2 Royal Collections as well as the collections of governments, museums, corporations, institutions and in hundreds of private homes.

David is also a noted muralist and paints the people and places he encounters on his travels for exhibition and sale when his busy schedule of commissions allows.

David currently resides in the Pacific Northwest from where he travels widely to fulfil commissions.