David Masters

David J. Masters is an author, artist, and storyteller whose books include The Lives I’ve Lived and Memories of Key West. His work rests on a simple belief: that the ordinary moments of a life often become the extraordinary memories we treasure most.

In The Lives I’ve Lived, David traces his journey from the foothills of Virginia to Key West, into the law firms of Washington, D.C., back to Virginia to build an art gallery, and finally to a lobby in Florida at four in the morning—still awake, still watching, still remembering. Memories of Key West preserves a remarkable chapter of the island’s history through the eyes of someone who was there: a portrait of a community and a way of life that can never be recreated, only remembered.

Before turning to memoir, David spent more than two decades as a paralegal in Washington, D.C., including many years with one of the nation’s largest and most respected law firms. That work sharpened his eye for detail and deepened his appreciation for the human stories beneath everyday events.

A lifelong passion for art led him to establish Master Pieces Folk Art Studio & Gallery in Leesburg, Virginia. Through weekly classes, national seminars, instructional books, and teaching materials, he shared traditional American folk art with thousands of students. His paintings—peaceful villages, New England harbors, coastal landscapes, and country roads—hang in homes across the United States and abroad.

Today, David lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he works nights as a concierge. The quiet hours behind the desk gave him the time, and eventually the reason, to begin writing down the lives he had already lived.

Some places disappear. Some moments fade. Through his paintings and his books, David J. Masters works to make sure the best of them are not lost.