[2] While in Los Angeles, de Soto discovered the art of lithography under the master printer, Lynton Richards Kistler, whom he studied under.
In an interview, de Soto discussed his experience of teaching in Mexico, and recalled the time when he joined an uprising with his fellow teachers to protest their poor compensation, although the school director received money from the GI Bill.
[3] De Soto and his fellow teachers created a mural covering 500 square meters in a converted chapel which they called the “Moving Spectator.” José Clemente Orozco, a Mexican artist, worked with them on this project.
In 1965, de Soto was awarded a grant from the Ford Foundation to work at the Tamarind Institute in Los Angeles for two years.
[1] Upon completion of his program, de Soto was awarded the title of Master Printmaker, becoming the first Latino to achieve this distinction in the field of lithography.
[4] In 1972, de Soto became a partner with José Luis Cuevas in Edition’s Press, located at 915 Bryant Street in San Francisco.
[1][5] de Soto's time at Edition's Press was short due to economic issues happening, however he reorganized and sold the printing business, which remained open and under new leadership and using the same name for many years.
After the edition is complete, the stone is effaced, making future production impossible.” De Soto's achievement made him the first Mexican-American to “develop, manage and direct a studio for the creation of original fine art prints” and “the first American master printer to establish an international relationship with artists in Mexico.”[7] De Soto had maintained his relationships with Mexican artists throughout his career in the United States.
[10] De Soto's studies in Mexico and experiences with Mexican Muralism and Surrealism artists shaped him and continued to be a part of his career when he returned to the United States and eventually established his own printing workshop.