Daniel James Rocz, born in Portland, Oregon, grew up in Seattle and Charleston, SC. He was popular and sought-after student artist by his friends and teachers, first at Orca Alternative Elementary School and then at Nova and Summit (Alternative) High Schools. He did his first invitational solo exhibit at the age of 15 at the Phinney Ridge Community Center. From the earliest age, he would create art in his family’s kitchen, in his grandparent’s kitchen and mountain cabin and in his father’s ante-bellum house in the heart of old Charleston, SC. At school, finishing in 1989, he would paint friend’s jacket backs, do permanent wall murals in the halls, creating works in most all mediums. His work in those years had touches of the psychedelic and the apocalyptic, always totally imaginary. If any famous artist influenced him, it was the Dutch graphic artist Escher. He excelled in any and all mediums, from pencil and paints and markers to etchings and sculpture.
Jamaica and Charleston were occasional homes in his late teens and early twenties. He created bodies of work in both locations, depicting their nature and architecture. At 21, he participated in an outdoor art show during Spoleto USA, winning a judge’s merit award, turning the heads of the other along with established adult artists. He painted friend’s guitar boxes and depicted Charleston’s surrounding antebellum architecture in his own whimsical style. He had another one-person show in Charleston, with great success and much acclaim.
Hawaii became his next and permanent home. Starting on the Big Island, he moved around the Hawaiian Isles, with Paia, Lahaina and Kihei on Maui and the island of Kauaii his favorite places. He did artistic sign-work for local businesses, major outdoor wall murals in Paia and paintings on recycled wooden boards, often depicted famous Hawaiian sites. He sold prints of his work wherever he could, a street artist with much success: weekend markets, local art co-ops, tourist shops, youth hostels, and roadside stands.