Jeff Soto is a contemporary artist born on June 3, 1975, in London, who aims to bridge the gap between pop-surrealism and street art with his distinctive color palette, theme, and technique. He grew up in Fullerton, California, where he showed interest in drawing, painting, and storytelling at a young age.

Soto attended the California State Summer School for the Arts and earned an Associate Degree in Arts from the Riverside City College before studying Illustration at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Soto's early influences include skateboarding graphics, horror, science fiction, and fantasy films, while he also drew inspiration from artists such as Max Ernst, Frida Kahlo, and Andy Warhol.

He started as a graffiti artist and later transitioned to exhibiting his works in local galleries and developing his illustration career, eventually holding his first solo exhibition in 2002.