David Cox was born and reared in country Queensland. When he left school, he worked for five years as a jackaroo on outback sheep and cattle stations. At age twenty-one, he went to London and enrolled at St Martin's School of Art. He stayed in Europe for eight years, spending time in France and Spain. Back in Australia, he worked as an artist in the newspaper industry, while illustrating children's books with texts by other writers as well as his own picture books. In 2007 he was awarded the Dame Isabelle Rankin Award for distinguished services to Children's Literature in Queensland.

David has been a full time freelance writer/illustrator for the last twenty-four years, working from his home studio in Brisbane. One of his hobbies is singing. He is coached by his wife, pianist/composer, Betty Beath, Betty and David have written music theatre pieces about St Francis of Assisi and David regularly acts as cantor at St Phillips Church, which is attached to a Franciscan friary.