Born in 1960, Daniel Patrick Loftus spent his childhood on a ranch in Southern California. By age thirteen, his independent spirit had already taken shape — he began racing bicycle motocross (BMX), sparking a lifelong passion for bicycles and motion that would later define much of his art.
In 1980, Daniel studied Art and Art History at Fullerton College before being accepted to UCLA, where he pursued both Art and English Literature. After completing his studies, he traveled extensively through Japan and China, immersing himself in their art and culture. Returning to the U.S. in 1985, Daniel launched his professional art career, working across drawing, painting, and metal sculpture. Settling in Hermosa Beach, California, he found inspiration in the coastal light and energy that became a recurring theme in his work.
In 1991, his travels took him to Ireland, where he painted alongside Irish artists and attended the “Tour of Ireland” bicycle race. The event left a lasting impression and reignited his fascination with bicycles — inspiring a new body of work that captured their color, rhythm, and spirit through drawings, wire mobiles, and large-scale canvases.
Further travels through the Greek Islands, Spain, France, Holland and Italy expanded his use of media — acrylics, oil pastels, and watercolors — each contributing to his evolving expression of movement and form. By 1993, Daniel had relocated to San Jose, California, where life in a tough, graffiti-covered neighborhood inspired him to experiment with bold pastel colors and community outreach. Restoring vintage bicycles, he created a “bicycle lending program” for local children, giving them the joy of riding — a living extension of his art’s vibrant energy.
In 1996, Daniel moved to Solana Beach and began teaching art classes in Tijuana, Mexico, at Plaza Cecilia, the patron saint of music. There, he created his celebrated “Tres Mariachis” series, blending music, culture, and color. His travels throughout Latin America continued to shape his visual language, leading to works that combine musical instruments, bicycles, and abstract forms in motion. During this time, Daniel held numerous solo artist exhibits in art galleries in Del Mar, La Jolla and San Diego, California.
In 2020, Daniel returned to his roots in nature, purchasing a ranch in Mohave Valley, Arizona. The desert’s vast light and solitude now provide the perfect backdrop for his continued exploration of color, movement, and the human spirit through art.
Daniel’s art has been compared to the works of modern masters such as Kandinsky, Miró, Klee, and Calder, yet his style remains unmistakably his own. Evolving beyond his bicycle series, his more recent works explore music, performance, and abstract portraiture — including his strikingly original piece, “Senor Lennon.”
Artist Statement — Daniel Patrick Loftus
My art is a celebration of movement, color, and rhythm — the visual energy that connects all living things. From my early days racing BMX to painting bicycles across Europe and Latin America, motion has always been at the heart of my work. I see bicycles, music, and abstract form as expressions of freedom — symbols of the human spirit in motion.
Each piece I create begins with a sense of play and exploration. I use bold colors, layered textures, and dynamic lines to capture the pulse of life — whether it’s the turn of a wheel, the strum of a guitar, or the emotion within a face. Influenced by artists such as Kandinsky, Miró, and Calder, my goal is not to imitate but to express — to transform rhythm and movement into visual poetry.
Now working from my ranch in the desert of Mohave Valley, Arizona, I find inspiration in open space, sunlight, and silence — allowing imagination and memory to merge into new forms of expression. My work continues to evolve, but its essence remains the same: art that moves, breathes, and celebrates the joy of being alive.