Daniel Gordon Watson (b.1949) was born in Santa Monica, and spent his early childhood in Venice, CA, described as California's answer to Greenwich Village. "In the 1950s and 60s Venice was a fascinating world....It had motorcycle gangs, actors, all the races, circus performers, poets, pro-wrestlers, musicians, tradesman and probably most influential, Beatniks and their Gas Houses (galleries). "

In grade school, Daniel became engrossed in drawing. But after the 6th grade he didn't pick up a pencil again to create art until 1992. During the intervening years Daniel married and became a father. Daniel Watson, a Vietnam Veteran and college graduate with a social conscience, is doing a life sentence for murder. His paintings are commentaries on global issues from a California vantage point.

He studies art history and loves surrealism. Watson uses intense color deliberately to create an unreal atmosphere and to emphasize the drama.