David Ortiz, a native Californian, and youngest of 5 children, was raised in Mexicali Baja California, Mexico. He entered San Diego City College, before studying traditional painting at Middlesex University (New Jersey). He returned to San Diego to continue his arts studies at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM), where he started a Japanese language curriculum, immersing himself in Japanese culture, specifically Sumi-e painting and Japanese cinema (1949-1987), and spent a semester at kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata City, Japan. Upon returning to the United States he continued to explore the artistic media such as video arts, painting and Internet based arts. His video work focuses on incorporating traditional visual techniques with novel approaches to still photography. In painting he is explores surrealism, using Japanese painting techniques with modern acrylic media, incorporating both with his interest in his Mexican cultural heritage.