"Born and raised in Southern California, Dan Mackin's earliest art impulses were influenced by his travel to Asia in the military in 1969. He sailed a small boat to Central America from 1971 to 1973. During this trek he lost his camera overboard and started recording his travels by drawing and painting scenes.

He has always had a fascination with tropical foliage and water. This, coupled with his great enjoyment creating art that led him into the art profession. He loves seeing a blank canvas transform into a window of paradise that before was only a thought. His aim is to communicate a sense of being in paradise, such as the feeling one gets when they see tropical water; the feeling of excitement and tranquility at the same time.

Mackin works nearly every day, usually long hours. When he can't sleep, he'll sometimes work from 3:00 AM to dawn, go back to bed for a couple of hours, and then get back to work! His work is collected by various entertainment and sports celebrities, and appears in the collections of the International Herald Tribune, Sheraton Resorts, and the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. He has exhibited at the Tampa Bay Aquarium, Wyland Gallery Shows, and many other art gallery exhibitions throughout the U.S..