He studied film at Rhode Island School of Design where he developed a friendship with his future bandmate Tod Ashley.

He left after their first album to form the legendary Gypsy Klezmer Punk outfit Motherhead Bug, as songwriter, vocalist and trombonist.

Ouimet's illustrations of creepy, bipedal, fez-capped insect creatures (usually wielding scimitars or smoking hookahs) appeared on Motherhead Bug's singles and album, and he has continued his career as an illustrator with Robert D. San Souci's Dare to be Scared series and Nancy Etchmendy's Cat in Glass and other Tales of the Unnatural.

"Daydreams for Night", stories by the Canadian musician John Southworth and illustrated by David Ouimet, was published by Simply Read books in 2015.

Ouimet's primary imagery revolves around his Hoodiebird characters, cloaked birds generally embellished with ornate filagree.