I would like to introduce my close friend & colleague Dan Witkoff to the Lonnie Ortega Aviation Art website.


Dan was born in Ft. Worth, Texas, 1947, where he grew up scribbling airplanes and attending elementary school, before the family moved to San Diego, California in 1959. Always interested in drawing, he majored in art (BA, art education, San Diego State University) and taught (postgraduate teaching credential) before - in 1974 - leaving teaching to pursue a career as a full-time artist. Teaming with a friend who opened an aviation art gallery in Laguna Beach, Dan has devoted his energy to the men and women - and their machines - that have made aviation history. In addition to many private collections nationwide, his artwork has been exhibited at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the San Diego Aerospace Museum, and is part of the permanent Air Force Art Collection in Washington, D. C. When not displaying at art shows and air shows around the country, Dan works and lives near San Diego with Ms. Vicious, the cat.