Recent Podcast Interview
Peter Gabriel – “Playing for Time (Bright-Side Mix)” by Daniel Leighton – Top 20 Finalist StabilityAI Diffuse Together Challenge
Daniel Leighton is a painter, Augmented Reality artist, filmmaker, and technologist who began programming at the age of eleven. Born with Crohn’s Disease, he has faced mortality from a young age, leading him on a lifelong journey of emotional and artistic exploration.
His work captures complex emotional states through the use of simple lines, vibrant colors, rhythmic movement, and editing. He integrates technology to expand the boundaries of artistic expression. Using the app he developed, Daniel Leighton Art + AR, Daniel brings his paintings to life through Augmented Reality (AR), animation, and video—creating immersive experiences that merge fine art, technology, and storytelling.
A central aim of Daniel’s art is to build a visual vocabulary of emotions—a way to externalize internal experiences that can be difficult to articulate. His paintings offer emotional landmarks, while his moving image work—including AR and film—guides viewers through deeply felt experiences. Through visual rhythm, pacing, and gesture, Daniel constructs emotional journeys that invite connection, catharsis, and reflection.
Daniel’s somatic awareness began as a necessity—shaped by the intense sensitivity and challenges of living in a body that demanded conscious attention. Through trial, reflection, and intuition, he developed his own ways of listening and responding to the body’s signals. Years of somatic practice—including movement, bodywork, emotional exploration, and embodied mindfulness—have deepened and refined that awareness, offering new tools and perspectives to support what he had already been cultivating. He listens closely: to the tension in a line, the rhythm of an animation, the energy in a color.
For Daniel, each piece begins in the body. His art is not just something to look at, but something to feel—an invitation to slow down, drop in, and inhabit a deeper sense of presence. Whether through painting, AR, or film, his work seeks to create a moment of resonance or release: a shift in presence that opens the door to greater awareness and deeper, more meaningful connections with ourselves and each other.
Daniel’s work has been recognized by leading art institutions, including:
- The Getty Museum (Los Angeles)
- Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA)
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
- Victoria and Albert Museum (London)
- LA Center for Digital Art (LACDA)
- San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA)
He has also presented at Technarte and other international forums for digital and interactive art.
San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA) Presents: Daniel Leighton – Augmented Reality, Art, iPad Painting Leighton
