Initially trained as an architect, Haughton turned to fine art. His subjects are the land, sea and spirit of the place, as stated by Wallace in her review of the show Juxtaposition, held at the Open Space Galleries, Penryn in April 2009.

Haughton was born in Devonport, Devon and graduated from the West of England College of Art in the 1960s when Paul FEILER was the head of painting there, and visiting tutors included Peter LANYON, William SCOTT and Karl WESCHKE. For twenty-five years he was a primary school teacher alongside his artistic endeavours. His abstract style, according to his own statement, is rooted in his personal experience of landscape, and his painted relief constructions incorporate found objects from boatyards and the seashore.