Artist David Cowles was born in Rochester, New York, where his father was a ceramics professor at Rochester Institute of Technology and his mother managed a gift shop that featured craftwork. Cowles worked at the Rochester newspaper “The Democrat and Chronicle” for a couple of years before beginning full-time freelance work as an artist. His work has since become ubiquitous, appearing in notable newspapers and magazines such as “Rolling Stone,” “Vanity Fair,” "Reader's Digest", "The Wall Street Journal", "Time", "Vibe", "People", “The New York Times”, "The Chicago Tribune", "Fortune" and "Playboy", to name a few.

Cowles has also dabbled in film; his first short, “Superfunk & Freaky-Dee” won the Grand Jury Prize for animation at the New York Independent Film & Video Festival in 2000. He also produced award-winning videos for the band They Might Be Giants as well as working on commercial spots for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rochester Institute of Technology, among others.