Dave Maloney was born in Akron, Ohio in 1942. He was raised and educated in Akron, and then came to Billings, Montana on a football scholarship to Eastern Montana College (MSU-Billings). After earning his degree as an art instructor, he taught in the Great Falls schools and has served such professional organizations as the Montana and the National Art Education Associations and the Montana Institute of the Arts. Over the years he continued his education as an artist until he finally decided that he would rather be an artist than a teacher of painting. During his career he has entered more than fifty invitational and competitive national exhibitions.