David Hobbs was born in Midland, Michigan on July 29, 1943. As a youth he became interested in the arts and attended the University of Michigan, where he studied architecture, toured the world with the Glee Club, and, in 1966, graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree. He then became a Navy pilot and later married a hometown girl, Jan Hunemorder. After leaving the service in 1971, David and Jan moved to the Washington, D.C. area and he began to work for and study with William E. Tolley, a noted Engrosser, the son of A.B. Tolley, the White House Calligrapher for several presidents. As a high school student David had visited Washington and watched both men work at the art of beautiful lettering, and the hobby David had begun in college became his career. Hobbs opened his own studio in 1976, and has done work for kings and presidents. The left-handed Engrosser, who is an accomplished artist outside the studio, has produced several fine bodies of engrossed work incorporating Thomas Jefferson's profile and the Declaration of Independence, Martin Luther King's image accompanied with the stirring "I Have a Dream" speech, and a spiritual piece featuring Jesus Christ's portrait within the text of the Sermon on the Mount.