Patrick Haughton was born in Devonport in 1942. He grew up and was educated in Barnstaple in North Devon, moving to Exeter to study architecture in 1960. In 1963 he abandoned his architectural training to enrol at Exeter College of Art, where Clifford Fishwick was principal. After foundation studies at Exeter he moved to the West of England College of Art in Bristol where he studied painting and sculpture. Paul Feiler was head of painting at that time, and visitors included William Scott and Karl Weschke.
He worked as a primary teacher in Kent and Cornwall for many years, becoming headteacher of a small rural school in Cornwall in 1982. Since retiring from teaching in 1995 he has worked full time as a painter. He was elected as a full member of Newlyn Society of Artists in 1996 and is an Associate Member of The Penwith Society of Arts. He lives and works in Penryn, overlooking the estuary of the River Fal in Cornwall.