David Mackie Cook, born in Dunfermline in 1957, studied at Duncan of Jordanstone School of Art in Dundee under renowned Scottish artists Alberto Morrocco and David McClure. From the outset of his career, Cook forged a distinctive, visionary path, earning early acclaim with the Guthrie Award at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1982 and first prize at the RSA Annual Student Exhibition the following year. His talent was further recognised with multiple travel and arts council awards throughout the 1980s, enabling him to visit key cultural centres including Paris, Amsterdam, Cyprus, and Belgium. Notable early exhibitions include a solo show at The Traverse Theatre in 1982 and a strong presence at the 369 Gallery in the decade that followed.

In the 1990s, Cook began frequenting Seagreens, a remote hamlet on the edge of the North Sea that would become his long-term home and artistic refuge. His travels during this time—to Turkey, the Balearic Islands, and most significantly, a three-month residency in Southern Africa at the invitation of the Everard Reed Gallery—deepened the geographic and emotional resonance of his work. By 2004, he had purchased the Seagreens property, and his art became rooted in the wild, changing landscape around him. Inspired by the seasons and the solitude of coastal life, his paintings capture nature in its raw immediacy—from daffodils and summer blooms to stormy winter skies.

Described as an art brut painter, Cook has also transformed his surroundings into an immersive, sculptural environment, using driftwood, cement, and found objects to create haunting, tactile figures and creatures. His relationship with Fraser Gallery spans many years, and he continues to exhibit regularly across the UK and internationally. Recent highlights include successful solo shows at The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh in 2009 and 2017, cementing his reputation as a unique and compelling voice in contemporary Scottish art.