by Sheng Lor

Joe Santos' story of achievement is one of perseverance and hard work. Despite failing his art class and barely graduating high school on time, today he is a highly successful full-time artist and recipient of some of watercolor art's most prestigious awards. His works have been, and continue to be, exhibited both regionally and nationally, and his influence in the art world has been recognized in national publications such as The Artist's Magazine and Southwest Art Magazine.

Santos was born in Los Angeles in 1965 and, at the age of five, moved to Washington where he spent most of his childhood. As a young boy diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, he found that art was one activity on which he could concentrate. "I was mostly painting sports scenes from magazines, and that was something I could do for hours and hours on end," says Santos.

Joe Santos, Golden West College Alum

Other school subjects did not hold his attention very well, resulting in what Santos called his "less than stellar grades" in high school. Upon graduation, he returned to California and attended Golden West College in Huntington Beach. For two years, Santos studied art and design, earning mostly As, while working in his father's art studio.

This change in school performance was a result of learning "just how insidious ADD can be" and dealing with that, according to Santos. The fact that he failed an art class in high school did not mean for Santos that he could not do well in art elsewhere. "One must find solutions and ways to work around the fact that one can sustain focus on one aspect of an activity, yet not on another aspect of the same activity," Santos says. Knowing what he was truly interested in regardless of failure and being persistent in pursuing that interest brought on struggles for Santos, but also great success.

For almost two decades, while working as a house painter, he spent nights, weekends, and all other free time drawing and painting. It was not until 2000 that Santos began showing his work and entering national juried competitions, but the long wait was not without cause; Santos's patience and persistence was reflected in his immediate acceptance as a mature and polished artist upon entering the art world. His artistic sensibilities and skills set quickly grabbed the attention of many and won him numerous national awards in the span of only a few years.

In 2008, after seeing tremendous success and gaining representation by three different galleries, Santos stopped working as a house painter and began working full time as an artist, achieving what many only dream of.

Santos' success as an artist came after taking many steps in the right direction. He credits GWC with being a crucial place for his artistic endeavor. "I regard my time at GWC as invaluable and a very important stage in my development as an artist," says Santos, reflecting back to his time as a community college student. "All in all, California Community Colleges are a great starting place for those wanting a career in the arts or for professionals to brush up on old skills or learn new ones."