David Swope is a self-taught artist who was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He studied Biology in college and completed training as a physician, specializing in neurology at Loma Linda University in southern California. His time there resulted in a lasting influence of nature, and particularly the ocean, in his choice of subject material. He has now practiced academic neurology for 20 years but has continued to develop his art during his medical career. Since moving to New York City his principle medium has been white charcoal on black paper, or “light on darkness”. He has displayed his work in many shows in New York including the 2015 Art Expo.