Wayne La Com was born in Glendale, California in 1922. He grew up in Southern California and attended art schools in Los Angeles where he studied watercolor with Hardie Gramatky and Watson Cross. He studied in the Los Angeles area at Art Center School, Chouinard Art Institute, and Jepson Art Institute. He was a member of the California Watercolor Society.

In the 1940s he produced location pieces with views of suburban living including houses, people, and landscapes. Using transparent watercolors, he is considered as part of the "California Regional Scene Painter School". In the 1950s he studied further with Rico LeBrun and Guy McCoy. For eight years he worked with opaque watercolors producin...