Daniel Colón was born in California in 1982 and spent much of his childhood constantly traveling. He was raised partly in Saudi Arabia and in various parts of the United States. At the age of 15 he enrolled at Cranbrook Kingswood, where he first gained interest in classical art and developed a passion for painting. He continued his studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. In 2003 he moved to New York to pursue traditional figure painting where he studied at the Art Students League of New York and the National Academy of Design. In 2005 he was awarded the Xavier Gonzalez and Ethel Edwards Travel Grant which allowed him to travel to Spain and Morocco to explore landscape painting. The next summer in New York, he participated in the Hudson River Fellowship Program. In November of 2007 he had his first group exhibition at the Art Students League of New York. After traveling to France in 2008 he had his first solo exhibition of landscape paintings in New York. Daniel continues to live and work in New York City and is currently focusing on a series of portraits and figures.
Colon describes his painting process this way: "When I travel and paint, I prefer staying in one place for as long as possible. I walk everywhere, take a different way every time, and I avoid the tourist routes that tend to be on display. When I find my subject, it’s usually off the beaten path somewhere, in a place the locals have probably passed a thousand times and overlooked just as often. I feel that painting these “forgotten” places is a way of paying respect to them, and giving back some of the surprise and joy they’ve given me.
“Reflections 1 and 2” are from a series of small paintings I did while teaching in the south of France during the summer of 2008. I loved the way the light would hit the rocks and shimmer across the water on my daily walks around the bay of Villefranche-sur-mer. “Leaving Wilderness” and “Approaching Storm” are from a similar trip to Puerto Rico the previous year. Wilderness Beach is a local surf spot on the west of the island known for its spectacular sunsets."